May 27, 2006
Complete Recap in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Davis, Calif. - UC Davis (18-34) hit three home runs and winning pitcher Vince DeCoito (2-3) pitched 8.2 strong innings to lead the Aggies to an 8-3 victory over Stanford (30-25) in the 2006 regular season finale for both clubs on Saturday at Dobbins Stadium. The victory was the second in as many days for the Aggies over the Cardinal, who still finished the season by winning nine of its final 13 contests to make a late postseason bid. The 64-team field for the 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship will be announced live on ESPN on Monday, May 29 (9:30 am, PT). The 16 Regional host sites will be revealed on Sunday, May 28.
Lukas Kirby (3-5, HR, RBI) had the first UC Davis homer when he hit a solo blast over the right field wall off losing pitcher Nolan Gallagher (4-4) with two outs in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game at 1-1.The Aggies took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second when Michael Hernandez drew a leadoff walk, moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt and a ground out, before scoring when Matt Dempsey (3-4, RBI) flared a two-out RBI single to right field.
Aaron Hanke (HR, 3 RBI) hit the second and arguably most damaging Aggie homer when he went deep with a three-run clout over the left field wall in the bottom of the third after Tyler LaTorre (2-4, 2 RBI) and Kirby had led off the frame with back-to-back singles.
Kevin James (2-4, 2B, HR, RBI) capped the victory with a solo homer over the wall in rightcenter field that was part of a three-run Aggie eighth that gave UC Davis a cushion when Stanford rallied in the ninth. LaTorre brought in the other two Aggie runs in the inning with a two-run single after Dempsey had restarted a rally with two outs and Daniel Descalso had doubled to keep it alive.
Grant Escue (3-4, 2 RBI) and Chris Lewis (3-4) both had three-hit days for the Cardinal, while Ryan Seawell (2-4, 3B) had a pair of hits including a triple to lead off the game.
The Cardinal scored twice in its final turn at the plate and finally knocked DeCoito (8.2 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) out of the game, but reliever Nik Aurora (0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) came on to strike out Chris Minaker with Michael Taylor looming on deck as the potential tying run. Both Cardinal runs in the ninth were unearned. Jason Castro, who had his career-high 12-game hit streak snapped, walked with one out but a Descalso let a routine double play ball that could have ended the game hit by Joey August to the Aggie second baseman go through his legs, giving the Cardinal runners at first and third with just one out. DeCoito struck out John Hester for the second out but pinch-hitter Jim Rapoport reached on an RBI bunt single to bring in Castro. DeCoito then walked Seawell to load the bases and was removed to the sounds of load ovation in favor of Aurora. Escue bounced an RBI single up the middle to score August with the second Cardinal run of the inning but struck out Minaker with three straight strikes after he had run the count to 3-0.
Gallagher allowed five runs on five hits and two walks before he could get an out in the second inning and was replaced after Hanke's homer by Jeremy Bleich (4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 SO), who kept the Cardinal in the game with his scoreless work.
Stanford hit the ball well early in the contest, picking up 10 of its 12 hits in the first six innings but left six on, as well as having one runner erased caught stealing, one more on the basepaths and another on a double play.
The Cardinal did get take a 1-0 lead with a single run in the top of the first inning. Seawell started the rally by hitting a line drive to right field that turned into a triple when the ball bounced by Hanke on his way to pick it up. Escue then lined out deep enough to center field to bring home Seawell. The Cardinal would get three more singles in the inning but could not bring home another run. Minaker restarted the rally after Escue's sacrifice fly with a single but was caught stealing on a hit-and-run play. Taylor and Lewis followed with back-to-back two-out singles before DeCoito got Castro to fly out to left field to end the inning.
The Cardinal would not score again until the ninth as DeCoito worked his way out of trouble several times, leaving baserunners stranded in five of the first six innings before retiring the Cardinal in order in the seventh and eighth frames.