The pitching efforts of UC Davis’s Bryan Green and Danny Carrion keep Cal Poly to a zero-run game
By CAROLYN (CARI) FENN — sports@theaggie.org
On Friday, May 5, the Aggies faced off in the first game of a three-game series against Cal Poly on Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium. With Cal Poly being ranked eighth in the Big West and UC Davis being ranked ninth, it was a close battle between the two teams to see who would come out on top. After less than two hours though, the Aggies won the game, shutting out the Mustangs in a low-scoring encounter, 1-0.
The most eventful inning for UC Davis’s offense came in the first inning where they gained their only run. After third-year outfielder Damian Stone hit a single and slowly advanced to third, a fly ball from third-year Alex Gouveia allowed Stone to make a sprint for the home plate, beating out the throw from center field and giving the Aggies the lone run of the game.
Following the first inning, the Aggies were only able to get three more hits, and from those hits, they were only able to reach third base. A big part of the reason they were unable to get another run is that they were facing off against third-year Bryce Warrecker — Cal Poly’s best pitcher — who had scouts clocking the speed of his throws during the game. Warrecker was on the mound for the rest of the game and he did not allow the Aggies to get another hit, showing just how difficult of a pitcher he was for UC Davis to face.
While UC Davis was struggling to get hits, so was Cal Poly. They were only able to get a total of three hits in the entire game and only got to third base in the first inning. Despite UC Davis being ranked eighth in fielding among the Big West teams, both the infield and outfield made some impressive plays that were crucial to the team’s success in the game.
Where the Aggies shined the most throughout the game was easily in their pitching duo: second-year Bryan Green and third-year Danny Carrion. They allowed an impressive combination of just three hits and five walks. and struck out six batters. The rest of the batters either hit ground or fly balls that their teammates on the field kept from becoming hits.
Opening the game was Green, who pitched a total of seven innings. Within those innings, he only allowed three hits and three walks and struck out three Mustangs. This was one of his best performances of the year, but Green is a consistent pitcher in UC Davis’s rotation and this season, he is ranked 12th among pitchers in the Big West with a 3.76 ERA.
The most impressive moment from Green was in the top of the third inning when he picked off second-year infielder Ryan Fenn at first base. Not only was Green able to pick off Fenn in the third inning, but he was also able to keep Fenn to only one hit during the game — an impressive feat, as the Mustang is currently ranked third in the Big West for hitting with a 0.359 AVG.
Closing out the last two innings of the game, Carrion came in to pitch for the Aggies. In those innings, he didn’t allow the Mustangs a single hit and struck out three of the seven batters he faced. While he allowed one batter on base with a walk, he didn’t allow any Cal Poly players to get on base after that; he finished out the game for the Aggies with a strikeout. Carrion’s impressive performance lowered his ERA to 1.78 — the lowest ERA on the team.
Despite the fast-paced game mainly being a back-and-forth of fly balls and strikeouts, it did allow a moment for UC Davis’s pitching to shine as Green and Carrion proved to be a tough pitching duo for the Aggies. The shutout was the second of the season for the team but was the first in conference play.
The Aggies went on to lose Saturday’s game 8-1 — a tough loss following Friday’s win. They came back to beat Cal Poly in their third matchup on Sunday with a score of 8-1, securing the series win.
Written by: Carolyn (Cari) Fenn — sports@theaggie.org
