UC Davis catcher Tyler LaTorre launched a two-run homer over the right field wall in the bottom of the eighth inning, helping the Aggies to a 4-2 win over Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon at Dobbins Stadium.UC Davis improves to 16-10, as the Hornets fall to 8-19-1 on the season.
Sacramento State had a 2-1 lead going into the eighth inning, after scoring two runs in the top of the seventh. Junior Brian Conradi led off the seventh with a double to left field and then scored on a single from junior Josh Levin.
Later in the inning, junior shortstop Everet Rincon singled to right field to score Levin, giving the Hornets a 2-1 lead. For Rincon it was just his third RBI of the season. Levin, a San Jose, Calif., native is now second on the team with 14 RBIs.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, UC Davis tied things up at 2-2 when first baseman Lukas Kirby singled to center field off Hornet left-hander Matt Campbell, scoring Daniel Descalso.
Senior right-hander Marshall Plouffe replaced Campbell on the mound and gave up the two-run homer to LaTorre, the second batter he faced in the inning. For LaTorre, it was his first home run of the season and the third overall for the Aggies.
The loss overshadowed Campbell’s performance on the mound. The transfer out of San Mateo JC went 7.1 innings allowing eight hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out four. From the fourth through sixth innings, the San Carlos, Calif., native also retired six consecutive batters.
Campbell is now 1-5 on the season with a 4.64 ERA.
Pete Soskin was credited with the win for UC Davis after pitching 2.1 innings and allowing just one hit. He is now 2-1 on the year.
At the plate, Sacramento State was led by freshman Taylor Watanabe, who got his fourth start of the season at second base. An Aiea HS graduate, Watanabe went 2-for-3 and is now 3-for-4 in the last two games, after recording the team’s only RBI on Friday.
UC Davis was led by Daniel Descalso, who went 3-for-4 from the plate with one run and one RBI. LaTorre finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run.
UC Davis now has a 2-0 advantage in the weekend series and leads the season series 4-0. The Hornets and Aggies will close the weekend and season series at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Hornet Field. The game can be heard on KSSU 1580 and www.hornetsports.com by clicking on the Live Audio link at the top of the page and scrolling down to baseball.
