Aggies suffer tough doubleheader loss to Cal Poly on senior night

By EVA MACHADO — sports@theaggie.org

The UC Davis women’s softball team celebrated their four graduating seniors, Delaney Diaz, Taylor Fitzgerald, Alyssa Ito and Sommer Kisling, on May 7 following their doubleheader against the Cal Poly Mustangs.

The Aggies held a short ceremony for the seniors, wishing a happy farewell to their departing teammates. 

Friends and families gathered on and around the women’s home softball field following the doubleheader against Cal Poly. Head Coach Erin Thorpe shared that she hopes the graduating players take away from their time on the team the ability to “know what it feels like to battle with another group of people in order to accomplish a goal.”

Thorpe went on to describe the camaraderie she has seen from these players and knows they will continue to show in their lives. 

Delaney Diaz was the first to be celebrated in the ceremony. Diaz plans to attend nursing school and become a pediatric oncology nurse after leaving Davis. She has been a massive presence on the team, “playing 92 games and starting [in] 68” during her five years in the program.

Diaz showed her capability as a player during the day’s doubleheader, pounding a hit in game one that scored third-year Sarah Starks right to center. This run was the second and last for the Aggies in the first game against Cal Poly.

Taylor Fitzgerald was the second celebrated senior of the day. Fitzgerald has made 70 appearances in the circle as a UC Davis pitcher and “holds the best two single-season efforts in program history,” which were both shutouts.

During the doubleheader, Fitzgerald allowed five hits, three runs and struck out one batter in the first game against Cal Poly. In the second game of the day, Fitzgerald continued to support her team outside the circle.

Alyssa Ito returned to the Aggies for her final two seasons following one season with the team in 2020. Ito has played in 69 career games and started in 18 games. Ito will be studying for the CPA exam while working as a corporate auditor after graduation.

Ito’s announcement stated that she will cherish the small memories she has made with her friends at UC Davis and while on the team the most.

Sommer Kisling was the final senior to be celebrated by the Aggies on their home field for the 2023 season. Kisling has played with the team for the past five years, holding the record in the school’s division one history for the number of games played at 217. Kisling is also ranked second in all-time at-bats and third in hits for the team. This record reflects Kisling’s consistency on the team. 

The senior celebration followed the Aggies’ last home game of the regular 2023 season. Cal Poly beat the Aggies in back-to-back games, both with scores of 5-2.

In the first game of Saturday, the Aggies came out strong, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. They held this lead until the sixth inning, when the Mustangs scored three runs, followed by an additional two runs in the seventh. 

Game two followed a similar trajectory. Again, the Aggies came in hot, scoring two runs in the first inning, but the Mustangs answered these runs with one of their own. 

The Mustangs and Aggies fought throughout the next three innings. Cal Poly scored one more run to level the score, and in the third inning, they took off, scoring three runs. The Mustangs held off the Aggies for the remainder of the game and ultimately defeated the Aggies with a final score of 5-2 again.

Saturday’s losses for the Aggies followed a win against Cal Poly on Friday, May 6. 

Leading players in Friday’s game included third-years Anna Dethlefson, Leah Polson, and Sarah Starks. Starks was also named student-athlete of the week. Starks earned this title in part because of a powerful home run during the doubleheader. Starks’ abilities shined through in both Friday’s win and Saturday’s games. 

What’s next for the Aggies following this tough loss against Cal Poly?

Following this three-game homestead, UC Davis headed to the University of Hawai’i for the regular season’s finale. The Aggies played the Rainbow Warriors on Thursday, May 11, followed by a doubleheader on Friday, May 12. The Aggies rallied from behind in the sixth inning of Thursday’s game but ultimately lost 2-3. On Friday, the Aggies beat the Rainbow Warriors in both games, winning the first 6-1 and the second 5-2. 

Written by: Eva Machado — sports@theaggie.org

The rich history of the Oakland A’s may be coming to an end with potential relocation to Las Vegas

By PATRICK FIGUEROA — sports@theaggie.org

On April 19, sources confirmed to the Nevada Independent that the Oakland Athletics (A’s) agreed to purchase land in Las Vegas to build a new, long-awaited stadium. This news came out shortly after the A’s completed a six-game homestand, during which they lost all six games and their record fell to 3-16. In a city that has already lost two of its professional sports franchises in recent years, the A’s relocation would end an era of professional sports in Oakland.

Just five years ago, Oakland had three professional teams: the A’s, the Golden State Warriors and the Oakland Raiders. Each of these teams had a rich history embedded within the city of Oakland. The Warriors went to five straight NBA finals and won three between 2015 to 2019 while in Oakland. The Raiders won two Super Bowl championships in 1976 and 1980, and, even in the years when they struggled to maintain their “commitment to excellence,” fans packed the Oakland Coliseum. Still, neither of these teams match up to the A’s history in Oakland. 

Unlike other Oakland franchises, the A’s are exclusively tied to Oakland. The Warriors were more associated with the Bay Area than Oakland itself and the Raiders moved from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982 before eventually moving back over a decade later. But the Athletics, arriving in 1968, have built a rich baseball history exclusive to Oakland. 

Notable moments from Oakland A’s history include their “three-peat,” in which they won three consecutive World Series championships from 1972 to 1974. The only other franchise in MLB to ever match such a feat is the New York Yankees. The A’s 2002 season was also memorable as they broke an MLB record for winning 20 consecutive games. In 2011, a blockbuster movie, “Moneyball,” starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, told the story of the A’s historic 2002 season.

Despite this rich history, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is an advocate for the A’s relocation to Las Vegas. In a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred mentioned that the A’s relocating would allow the team to put a “more competitive on-field product.” He also defended A’s Owner John Fisher, who many fans are blaming for the potential relocation. 

“I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland, I really do,” Manfred said. “But for the city of Oakland to point fingers at John Fisher, it’s not fair.” 

In the A’s first home game since the agreement to acquire land in Las Vegas, over 6,000 fans showed up to chant, “Sell the team!” Others also hung signs on the railing in right field with phrases like “Fisher out” and “Sell.”  

Fisher has been criticized for allegedly tanking the A’s on purpose in order to alienate fans and expedite the move out of the Oakland Coliseum. Despite having the sixth-largest media market in MLB, the A’s have the lowest payroll out of all teams. They had merely six wins through the first month of the 2023 season. They also traded away young, talented players, like first baseman Matt Olson and catcher Sean Murphy, in previous offseasons to save money. As a result, A’s fan attendance is reaching record lows. 

There was discussion of building a new stadium near Oakland called the Howard Terminal project. In early April, the city prevailed in a court case deeming that the project’s environmental impact report was sufficient. This was significant progress for the A’s to get a new ballpark in Oakland, but Fisher still decided to buy land in Las Vegas, which apparently “blindsided” Oakland Mayor Sheng Mao.

“Based on the A’s desire to achieve certainty in 2023, we laid out a detailed and specific plan to bring the project forward to city council vote this summer,” Thao said. “But it has become clear that we are not able to reach acceptable terms and that the A’s are not good partners in the effort.”

Still, the relocation is far from finalized. In a recent article from the Nevada Independent, Nevada Assemblymember Steve Yeager revealed that the state’s legislature could “run out of time” on a potential deal to use public money to help construct the A’s new ballpark in Las Vegas. For the funding to be included in this year’s state budget, the deal would need to be finalized before June 6.

“If something was going to happen, it really should have been in place last week,” Yeager said about getting a deal done for the A’s new ballpark. 

If the A’s and Nevada do not come to a deal by June 6, there is still an opportunity to do so in a “special session” after the deadline. However, Yeager said he would prefer to have a deal done during the regular session. 

Despite this, it seems doubtful that the A’s will stay in Oakland. 

“I think [my] overall reaction is just sad,” Oakland A’s fan Jonah Pelter said when asked what he thought about the potential move. “I really think that Oakland deserves better and the Oakland sports fans [too]. The fans there are die-hard [fans], and they really care about the team and the team’s history, so it’s really sad. I think it is important to note that it’s not official yet, but I think it’s probably 70/30 that they move to Vegas given that the MLB supports the move.”  

The A’s will be in Oakland for the remainder of this season and next season at least, as their lease in Oakland Coliseum will not expire until after the 2024 season. Yet, this remaining time in Oakland seems like it will merely be a shell of what once was as the A’s continue to perform poorly and their fans refuse to support an owner that they feel is abandoning them. 

Written by: Patrick Figueroa — sports@theaggie.org