
Highlanders Walk it Off to Open Davis Series
4/8/2022 6:22:00 PM | Softball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Marissa Burk walked off in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday at Amy S. Harrison Field as UC Riverside opened the weekend with a 2-1 win over UC Davis.
It was the third straight game against the Aggies that required extra innings.
"We trained really hard this week against a very respectable pitching staff and it was nice to see our training come into play," head coach Nikki Palmer said. "Our preparation showed all the way through the game. I thought we took care of the ball really well, had great team hitting, great team defense and our pitchers really held it down for us."
Chrys Hildebrand racked up seven strikeouts for the third time in her last five games, going 6.0 innings with nine punchouts. Hildebrand, who last weekend became the fastest UCR Division I pitcher to 100 strikeouts in a season, currently ranks fifth on the program's Division I all-time strikeout list.
Hildebrand struck out the side in the fifth inning before getting UC Riverside out of a bases-loaded jam unscathed in next frame.
Lauryn Garewal recorded her fifth sacrifice fly of the season in the third inning, bringing in Taylor Burdette. Burdette singled and advanced on an error, then moved to third on a wild pitch.
UC Davis put runners on second and third with just one out in the seventh, but Katie Barbarick recorded two massive punchouts to leave Aggies on the base path. UC Riverside put the leadoff runner on but couldn't plate the run as UCR and UC Davis headed to extra innings for the third straight meeting.
Max Ortega belted a standup double in the bottom of the eighth before Burk recorded her 18th RBI of the season with the game-winning knock into left center field.
UC Riverside and UC Davis will finish the three-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11:00 a.m.
It was the third straight game against the Aggies that required extra innings.
"We trained really hard this week against a very respectable pitching staff and it was nice to see our training come into play," head coach Nikki Palmer said. "Our preparation showed all the way through the game. I thought we took care of the ball really well, had great team hitting, great team defense and our pitchers really held it down for us."
Chrys Hildebrand racked up seven strikeouts for the third time in her last five games, going 6.0 innings with nine punchouts. Hildebrand, who last weekend became the fastest UCR Division I pitcher to 100 strikeouts in a season, currently ranks fifth on the program's Division I all-time strikeout list.
Hildebrand struck out the side in the fifth inning before getting UC Riverside out of a bases-loaded jam unscathed in next frame.
Lauryn Garewal recorded her fifth sacrifice fly of the season in the third inning, bringing in Taylor Burdette. Burdette singled and advanced on an error, then moved to third on a wild pitch.
UC Davis put runners on second and third with just one out in the seventh, but Katie Barbarick recorded two massive punchouts to leave Aggies on the base path. UC Riverside put the leadoff runner on but couldn't plate the run as UCR and UC Davis headed to extra innings for the third straight meeting.
Max Ortega belted a standup double in the bottom of the eighth before Burk recorded her 18th RBI of the season with the game-winning knock into left center field.
UC Riverside and UC Davis will finish the three-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11:00 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Barbarick, Katie (2-5)
L: Kenedi Brown (10-10)
Batting:
2B: Anna Dethlefson 1
RBI: Anna Dethlefson 1
SH: Sarah Starks 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alyssa Ito 1
SB: Anna Dethlefson 1
HBP: Anna Dethlefson 1 ; Libbie McMahan 1

Batting:
2B: Ortega, Max 1 ; Burk, Marissa 1
RBI: Garewal, Lauryn 1 ; Burk, Marissa 1
SF: Garewal, Lauryn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ortega, Max 1 ; Burdette, Taylor 1
SB: Ortega, Max 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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Monday, May 04
UCR Student-Athletes cheer on our students.
Friday, May 01
UCR Athletics Director Introductory Full Press Conference
Tuesday, March 24
Athletics Director Greg Paules Introductory Presentation Recap
Tuesday, March 24














