SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- UC Davis’ Jeff Reekers allowed five hits and one run over 6.2 innings, and four Aggies had three hits on the way to a 10-1 victory over Sacramento State in a non-conference baseball game Wednesday afternoon at Hornet Field.
The game signaled the last in the Causeway Cup series, an all-sports competition between Sacramento State and UC Davis. The Hornets clinched their second consecutive Cup victory on April 13 with a win in men’s tennis, but the final outcome was the closest since the two programs began competing for the prize in 2004-05. The final standings have Sacramento State edging UC Davis, 52.66-52.34.
Reekers and two relievers combined to allow the Hornets just six hits and one run over nine innings as Sacramento State had just one hit after the sixth. Reekers, who just picked up a complete-game victory over the Hornets on May 8, struck out four and walked one over 6.2 innings today. The right-hander improved to 6-5 this season, with three of those victories coming against Sacramento State.
With the win, UC Davis improved to 21-28 overall and 4-1 against the Hornets. Sacramento State dropped to 17-36 with the loss. The Hornets have still won six of their last 10, and have just two remaining non-conference games before the Western Athletic Conference Tournament begins on May 24. Sacramento State has already clinched a spot in the postseason tournament for the second straight year.
The Hornets got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the second after Jeff Hannah singled home Gabe Jacobo. UC Davis, however, then scored 10 unanswered runs. After tying the score at 1-1 in the third with a solo home run from Kyle Mihaylo, the Aggies broke things open with a four-run fifth inning.
Back-to-back singles from Michael Hernandez and Ryan Royster began the fifth. Later in the inning, an RBI-fielders choice from Matt Dempsey and an RBI-single from Aaron Hanke gave the Aggies a 3-1 lead. In the same inning with two outs and runners at first and third, Hanke broke early from first base inducing a throw to second from Hornet reliever John Schlager. Daniel Descalso then broke from third, and Gary Johnson’s throw to the plate popped out of the glove of Hornet catcher Travis Kirkman as he was trying to apply the tag on Descalso. An RBI-double from Evan Hudson concluded the Aggie scoring in the inning.
UC Davis would go on to score five more runs over the last three innings to provide the final margin of victory. Descalso, Hanke Mihaylo and Ryan Royster each had three hits for UC Davis.
In the first start of his Sacramento State career, senior left-hander Chris Mols was effective, allowing just one hit and one run over 3.0 innings while throwing 44 pitches. Schlager (2.0), Tyler Axelrod (2.0), Billy Sinacori (1.0) and Mitch Lively (1.0) also pitched for the Hornets. Schlager (1-3) got the loss, allowing six hits and four runs (two earned) over 2.0 innings.
Ryan Blair was the lone Hornet with a multiple-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 while extending his hitting streak to 10 games. David Flores went 0-for-4 and saw his career high and team-best 14-game hitting streak come to a close.
Sacramento State returns to action for a home-and-home against Santa Clara this weekend. The Hornets host the Broncos on Saturday at 2 p.m., and the two teams play again in Santa Clara on Sunday at 2 p.m. Eleven Hornet seniors will be honored for their contributions to the program prior to Saturday’s game.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- UC Davis’ Jeff Reekers allowed five hits and one run over 6.2 innings, and four Aggies had three hits on the way to a 10-1 victory over Sacramento State in a non-conference baseball game Wednesday afternoon at Hornet Field.
