UC Riverside Baseball Sweeps UC Davis With 4-2 Victory

Saturday, April 19

Riverside, CA

1:00 pm

UC Riverside

17-18, 6-3

UC Davis

16-20, 3-9

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UC Davis	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	2
UC Riverside	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	X	4	6	0

Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta

UC Riverside Baseball Sweeps UC Davis With 4-2 Victory

4/19/2014 5:59:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Riverside—The UC Riverside Baseball Team completed the sweep of UC Davis Saturday afternoon with a 4-2, come-from-behind victory. Coupled with Long Beach State's 2-1 loss to UC Santa Barbara, UCR is now alone in third place in the Big West Conference two games behind second place UC Irvine (Box Score).

The Highlanders (17-18, 6-3) jumped out to leads up 10-1 and 7-1 on Thursday and Friday, but that wasn't the case Saturday as UC Riverside and UC Davis (16-20, 3-9) found themselves in an old-fashioned pitcher's duel. UCR starter Ben Doucette and Aggies starter Even Wolf both brought ERAs north of 4.50 into the game with them, but you wouldn't have known it. Doucette pitched seven innings allowing just five hits, one walk and two runs, while Wolf was just as good allowing four hits and a walk through five innings.

The difference in the game turned out to be the bullpens. Wolf turned a 2-1 lead over to his relief corps in the sixth as Orlando Razo (1-4) took to the hill. Razo did not survive the inning, however, thanks in part to his defense. Devyn Bolasky opened the bottom of the inning with a grounder to second that Evan Heptig couldn't handle. Francisco Tellez then reached on a fielders' choice grounder that erased Bolasky, and Nick Vilter beat out an infield single to put runners on first and second.

David Andriese followed with a fly ball that would have been the third out were it not for the Heptig error. The Highlanders took advantage of the extra out as Thomas Walker drew a free pass to load the bases, and Matt Ellis walked to bring home the tying run.

That ended Razo's day, as the Aggies brought closer Zach Stone into the game. UC Riverside Head Coach Doug Smith called on pinch hitter Alex Rubanowitz, and he popped a ball into shallow right center that fell between three fielders scoring two to give the Highlanders their first lead of the game. All of the runs scored in the inning were unearned.

Doucette (3-3) protected that lead through the seventh, and Angel Landazuri came on to start the eighth. He retired the first two batters he faced, but Tino Lipson singled down the left field line, and Austin March doubled down the right field line to bring the go-ahead run to the plate.

Smith then brought closer Kevin Sprague into the ball game, and after walking pinch-hitter Mark Cardinalli, Sprague got Izaak Silva to pop out to right, stranding three. Sprague then worked a scoreless ninth for his fifth save of the season.