UC Davis wins series opener versus Pepperdine

Jalen Smith, Connor Longrie, and Shaun Mchale, all finished with three hits on the day, while Michael Campagna blasted his second home run of the season in support of starter Jake Spillane, as the UC Davis baseball team opened a four-game set with visiting Pepperdine with a decisive 10-5 victory on Friday afternoon at Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium.

The Aggies improved to 4-7 overall, bashing out 16 hits on the day. The Waves, led by a twohomer game from Ryan

Johnson, fell to 3-8 with the loss.

Spillane (1-1) went six innings, giving up five runs on six hits and striking out five, but was the recipient of a couple of big innings as the Aggies jumped out to a 5-0 lead and later put up three more runs in the fourth to pull away. Kaden Riccomini earned the three-inning save, allowing just two hits and striking out two as Pepperdine got no closer than two runs on the day.

UC Davis took advantage of a bit of wildness from Waves’ starter Jack Baird (0-2) in the home half of the first, using a pair of singles and back-to-back walks — the second of which to Colton Evans — for a 1-0 lead. Longrie then laced a two-run single through the right side, followed by a Mchale RBI double, and a run-scoring single by Isaiah Verrett, for the 5-0 advantage.

A home run by Pepperdine’s Connor Bradshaw got a run back in the top of the second, and the Waves added two more in the fourth on Johnson’s first home run of the day, but the Aggies had an answer in the home half of the fourth.

Campagna’s blast cleared the fence down the left field line to make it 6-3 and Kyler Arenado put UC Davis even further in front with a two-run single down the left field line for the 8-3 advantage.

Johnson’s second tworun shot in the sixth for Pepperdine made it 8-5, but that would be as close as the Waves would get the rest of the way as Cooper Morrison and pinch-hitter Jackson O’boy collected RBI singles in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to cap the scoring.

The series continues with a doubleheader on Saturday (March 13) beginning at 11:30 a.m.