RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside finished off a three-game series with UC Davis on Saturday afternoon at Amy S. Harrison Field, storming back to take game one 11-4 before falling 4-3 in extras in the series finale. 
 
The split secured UCR's first series win over UC Davis since 2017. 
 
Chrys Hildebrand took the ball for the second consecutive game, going 5.0 innings with six strikeouts in game one. UC Davis went ahead with a four-run first inning, but UC Riverside wasted no time playing catchup. 
 
The Highlanders made the most of their opportunities at the plate in the second inning. Taylor Burdette drew the third walk of the inning to put UCR on the board before Nadia Witt knocked in her ninth RBI of the season with an infield single. Lauryn Garewal made it a one run game with a sacrifice fly to center field. 
 
UCR quickly turned that game of catchup into a seven-run inning sparked by Max Ortega's two-run triple, just the fourth three-bagger on the year for the Highlanders. UC Riverside shut the door offensively with a Gigi Araki three-run home run in the sixth for the 11-4 win.
 
The Highlander offense wasn't able to sustain itself into the back end of the doubleheader, as UC Davis jumped out to a 3-0 lead after four innings. Jantzen Owen grounded out in the sixth inning to put UCR on the board, but Moana Pisia pinch hit for Araki and was not able to cut the deficit any closer. 
 
Kat Montuya drew the leadoff walk in the seventh inning and Witt moved her over with a single through the left side on the first pitch of her at-bat. With two on and one out, Lauryn Garewal delivered with a triple down the right field line to send game three to extras for the second time of the weekend. UC Davis plated the game-winning run in the top of the eighth. 
 
UCR will stay in Riverside next weekend with a three-game series against Hawaii on April 15 and 16. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and fans can purchase tickets at highlanderstickets.universitytickets.com.