Event: Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic
Team: North Dakota State, Portland State, Stanford
Records: Aggies 7-15; Bisons 10-6; Vikings 3-9 ; Cardinals 17-5
Where: Stanford, Calif.
When: Saturday, March 8; Sunday, March 9
Who to Watch:
In UC Davis’ fourth tournament of the year, the Aggies traveled to Santa Clara, Calif. and partook in the Santa Clara Marriott Classic. The athletes faced a challenging schedule, playing four games in a mere two days. With a lot of softball to be had in the first weekend of March, the Aggies began by taking on host team Santa Clara.
In a well-fought battle, the two teams remained tied at 4-4 until the fifth inning, when the Broncos broke ahead, taking the game, 5-4, over the Aggies. Although the first game of the weekend ended unfavorably, the athletes bounced back to take on Boston University in the second matchup on March 1.
The Aggies carried their second game of the day into extra innings, where they bested Boston in the eighth, with a final score of 6-5. Finishing the grueling doubleheader at 1-1, the Aggies had several standout players in the first day of tournament play.
Junior Krista Bava added to the Aggies overall home run count of 11 so far in 2014, blasting her first of the season versus Santa Clara. Bava holds a batting average of .211 and slugging percentage of .316 coming into UC Davis’ next round of games.
Along with offensive displays, Aggie pitchers also established themselves out on the diamond this past weekend. In the second day of play, UC Davis split once again, first defeating Boston University 4-3 before falling in a close matchup to Seattle University, 7-6.
Sophomore Marissa Chapa recorded her first victory in Aggie Blue versus Boston, along with another first for sophomore Alicia Paine, who picked up her first save of the season. Chapa is 1-1 so far in 2014, with an overall ERA of 4.45. Paine maintains a low ERA of 2.03 after facing the Terriers.
Preview:
First up, the Aggies face rival Sacramento State in a mid-week causeway battle on March 4 in Sacramento, Calif. This is the two teams’ second and final meeting of the year. A win in this matchup will give the Aggies final bragging rights, as they would take away a 2-0 record versus the Hornets in 2014.
The athletes then travel to Stanford for another challenging tournament weekend, where they will face North Dakota State and Portland State on March 8 before finishing off the weekend versus host Stanford on March 9.
— Sloan Boettcher
