Aggies claim Big West series win at UC Riverside

UC Davis can finish with a winning record this weekend

Tyler Howard went 5 for 5 for the Aggies in Sunday's finale of a three-game series at UC Riverside. Photo by Leroy Yau.

RIVERSIDE - UC Davis continued its late-season surge up the Big West Conference baseball standings by taking two of three games from UC Riverside over the weekend at The Plex.

This marks the Aggies' third straight series win in conference play and gives UCD a fighting chance for a winning season in just the third year of the Tommy Nicholson era.

The Aggies are now 27-26 overall with a three-game series against Cal State Bakersfield at home to close out the season. UCD is in seventh place in the 11-team Big West with an 11-16 mark, while Bakersfield comes to town 7-20 in league play and 14-36 overall.

The teams will meet at Dobbins Field Thursday at 2:30 p.m., Friday at 2:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Aggies need to win two of these final three games to finish with a winning record. A sweep would give UCD a remarkable 30-win season, something that seemed like a distant dream earlier in the year when the Aggies were struggling through an eight-game conference losing streak.

In Friday's first game at The Plex, UCD pounded out 18 hits in an 11-4 rout, with seven players having multiple hit days at the plate.

Ryan Lee led the way with three hits and three runs batted in, while Alex Gouveia was 3 for 5 and Nick Leehey had two hits and three RBI. Riley Acosta also drove in a pair of runs.

Nick Leehey went 5 for 5 in UC Davis' 6-3 win over UC Riverside on Saturday. Photo by Leroy Yau.

In a 6-3 win on Saturday, the hitting onslaught continued, as Leehey went 5 for 5, and Jason Hanson, Lee and Acosta had two hits each in UCD's 15-hit day.

The Aggies had their brooms out on Sunday and were looking for a sweep, but the host Highlanders had other ideas.

Riverside took a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning, but Tyler Howard had a two-run single for the Aggies to tie the game at 5 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Mason Grace's walk-off single allowed Riverside to salvage a 6-5 win in the season finale.

Despite the loss, Aggie bats remained hot in the loss, with Howard's 5 for 5, three RBI performance sparking a 13-hit effort. Acosta and Mark Wolbert added two hits apiece.

The good news, in addition to the two wins, is that the Aggies exploded against Riverside pitching for 46 hits in the three games.

If they can carry that momentum into this Thursday's opener against Bakersfield and maintain it through Saturday's finale, a winning season will be theirs for the taking.