Box Score Stockton, Calif. – The Pacific Tigers lost 9-5 to UC Davis Sunday night in the final game of their series as the Aggies swept Pacific behind 17 hits today. The Tigers fell behind four and were able to cut it to a two-run game in the sixth before the Aggies broke it open with a three-run sixth. UC Davis put six of their eight leadoff men on during the game to continually put the pressure on the Tigers. Pacific is now 17-24 on the season and on a six-game losing streak.
Ricky Reynoso made his 12th start for the Tigers. Reynoso lasted two batters into the fourth inning before being replaced by Shelby Lackey with runners on first and second and no outs. Reynoso took the loss to drop to 2-4 this year
UC Davis' Nat Hamby started and went 5.2 innings before Pacific forced the Aggies to go to the bullpen. Hamby gave up eight hits and four walks in his time on the mound while striking out just three but only allowed three runs. Hamby's win was his second this year, coming in his tenth start.
Danny Mayer had his third double of the series in the first inning. Mayer fouled four pitches in a row off to stay alive in the at-bat before smoking the ball down the leftfield line and coasting into second. Mayer extended his hitting streak to 11 games with the double, a streak during which he has recorded six doubles and four homers. Mayer has also reached base in 24 consecutive games now.
A single by Gio Brusa to right scored Mayer to give the Tigers an early lead in the game. It was Brusa's 109th career RBI as a Tiger, moving him into a tie for eighth all-time with Vic Sanchez. Brusa also now has seven RBI in his last seven games. The senior was one of Pacific's four baserunners in the first inning as Nate Verlin and Lucas Halstead also walked en route to Pacific's early 1-0 lead.
Pacific didn't lead for long as the Aggies put three men in a row on after Reynoso got the first out in the first. After a single and a walk, UC Davis tripled into the ample gap in left-center to clear the bases and give Davis the 2-1 lead. Another run scored on a sacrifice fly one batter later to extend UC Davis' lead. Reynoso's strikeout stopped the bleeding but not before Pacific fell behind.
While the Aggies kept hitting in the second, Pacific's defense erased any scoring opportunities. After the first batter of the game singled, UC Davis attempted to sac bunt the runner over. Verlin sniffed out the play and was able to get the lead runner at second. A double followed but J.J. Wagner cut off Mayer's throw from left and gunned down the runner trying to score from first for the second out.
Another leadoff single by the Aggies led to a fourth run in the third inning. A failed pickoff move advanced the runner, then a double down the line scored him to make it 4-1. The Tigers had the runner on second picked off during the next at-bat but were unable to get the out as Davis' runner slid under the tag at third for a stolen made. Wagner made another terrific defensive play after that to smartly field a grounder and throw home in time to get the second out and keep the score where it was.
In the fourth, Pacific loaded the bases, all with two outs. McKay Koissian and Kevin Sandri had infield singles while J.P. Yakel drew a walk. Unfortunately, Pacific couldn't get just one more hit to get back in the game and left the bases loaded. The Tigers could not get a hit either of the times they loaded the bases in the first four innings of the game.
For the third inning in a row, the Aggies singled to start an inning. Pacific tried to get the lead runner on a grounder one batter latter but he was ruled safe, making it first and second with no outs. A sacrifice bunt moved the batters up. After a walk to set up a force at any base, UC Davis scored with a sac fly.
Three straight singles started the fifth for the Aggies but no runs came of it. The Tigers were able to get an out in a rundown following the third single with an odd 9-2-5-6 putout getting the runner at second during the play. Lackey made a fine play to snag a ball hit right back at him to get the second out and hold the runners where they were. The freshman induced an easy liner to Louis Mejia at second to end the inning.
Lucas Halstead had his third extra-base hit of the series when he took an 0-1 pitch to left-center for a leadoff double in the sixth. Ten of Halstead's 13 extra-base hits have come when he is DHing, where he has hit .353 with 14 runs and 11 RBI.
A single by Mejia put the pressure on, giving the Tigers runners on the corners with no outs. Koissian drove Halstead in with a single to center that gave the centerfielder an RBI in each of his last two starts. Yakel's textbook sacrifice put Koissian in scoring position and moved Mejia to third in the 5-2 game. Sandri grounded out to plate Mejia and make it a two-run game. Those two runs were all Pacific managed in the inning as they still trailed entering the bottom of the sixth.
UC Davis' leadoff men made it 5-for-6 in the game with a single in the sixth. They quickly loaded the bases with two walks in a row. Fineas Del Bonta-Smith came on and got a popup from the first man he faced to make it one out with every runner staying where they were. After fighting through an eight-pitch at-bat, Del Bonta-Smith got a strikeout to once again keep every runner where they were.
The Tigers couldn't get one more out when they needed it, sadly. The Aggies double to left-center to clear the bases and push the lead to 8-3, the largest lead of the game to that point. Yakel's 19th caught stealing of the year ended the inning but the damage was done.
For the sixth inning in a row, the Aggies singled to start an inning in the seventh. That runner scored when a single to the outfield was mishandled. That run was all in the seventh as Jordon Gonzalez had two strikeouts in the inning to keep UC Davis from scoring even more.
Pacific entered the ninth inning down six runs, a deficit that was insurmountable for them in the game. Mayer did manage to hit his 12th homer of the year with a blast to leftfield that made it 9-5 after Wagner walked with one out. The homer put Mayer into a tie for the sixth-most in a single season by a Tiger, matching Mike Walker's 12 in 2010 and Justin Baum's 12 in 2006. Walker's 2010 output was the last time Pacific had an individual hit 12 homers in a season.
The homer also gave Mayer his sixth game this year with multiple extra-base hits. That was the end of it for Pacific as the Tigers lost 9-5 on the road.
Pacific's next home game will be this upcoming Tuesday against the Nevada Wolf Pack, with the game scheduled to start at 6:30 pm. The Tigers will also play Santa Clara at home this upcoming weekend, with the first game on Friday starting at 7:00 pm. Tickets for all home games are available online.
Make sure to follow Pacific baseball on Twitter with the username @PacificBaseball and on Instagram at pacificbaseball.
