UCD wins triple crown over Stanford
Aggie baseball sweeps the Cardinal in two-game series
Issue date: 5/30/06
Aggies first baseman Lukas Kirby tries to tag the Cardinal’s Blake Hancock during Saturday’s game against Stanford. The series victory over Stanford marks a triple crown for UC Davis with its three major men’s sports claiming victory over the Cardinal.
|
|
Winning one game in a baseball series may not say a lot, but outscoring a historically elite program 11-3 and sweeping them in a two-game series does.
So went UC Davis’ first series win of the season and a silent ending for Stanford that made the Cardinal (30-25) hold its breath before narrowly qualifying for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
The sweep also gave life to a legendary Aggie triple crown over the Cardinal, as UC Davis (18-34) wrapped up the 2005-2006 athletic year having defeated Stanford in the three major men’s sports.
“We had to beat them,” joked senior first baseman Lukas Kirby. “If we didn’t, we were the odd man out.”
While the Aggie bats strung together timely rallies in both games, the real story of the weekend was the starting pitching performances that UC Davis got from seniors Michael Potter and Vince DeCoito.
Furthering his status as one of the best pitchers in the region, Potter (5-3, 2.77) threw a three-hit shutout under the lights at the Sunken Diamond on Friday. DeCoito (2-3, 5.54) followed on Saturday at Dobbins Stadium with his longest and most effective start of the year, getting within one out of a complete game and giving up just one earned run.
“I can’t imagine any other way to go out,” said senior Tyler LaTorre. “You have to tip your hat to DeCoito and Potter.”
Friday, 3-0 win at Stanford
With Stanford junior ace Greg Reynolds impressing scouts enough to receive consideration as a top-10 pick in the 2006 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, even Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda was present to see what the 6-foot-7 righty could bring.
But Reynolds was hardly the focus of the evening. Retiring Stanford in order in the bottom of the first after the Aggies scored two runs in the top half of the inning, Potter instantly stole the show.
The lefty only allowed four batters to reach base in nine innings, aided by a stout Aggie defensive effort. And no Cardinal made it past second.
“Tyler called a great game back there; I didn’t shake him off once,” Potter said. “I was able to minimize pitches so I could stay out there longer. This might be the last game I ever play, so what did I have to hold back for? I just left it all out there.”
With over 3,000 fans looking on, it took Potter only 110 pitches to shut down Stanford in its final home game of the season.
Sophomore Daniel Descalso led the UC Davis offense by doubling to left twice and scoring what would turn out to be the game-winning run in the first inning.
Junior Aaron Hanke singled in Descalso, while senior Jimmy Goetz and sophomore Kevin James also drove in runs for UC Davis, helping Potter pick up the victory.
“I couldn’t ask for a better atmosphere,” Potter said, as hordes of young Stanford fans begged for his autograph from the stands. “You’ve got an excellent crowd to play in front of. This is awesome … great park.”
Saturday, 8-3 win at Davis
Judging by all the emotion the UC Davis fans carried throughout the second game of the two-game set, it sure didn’t seem like they were cheering on a team that entered the afternoon 17 games under .500.
And they weren’t really cheering that team on. A different Aggie team showed up for the second straight game – this time on Senior Day.
DeCoito didn’t exactly pick right up where Potter left off, giving up four sharply lined hits in the top of the first, but he escaped with just one run worth of damage.
“I kind of thought to myself … I don’t want to end my career like this, so I better work hard to get it done,” DeCoito said.
Allowing only five hits over the next seven innings, the senior completely turned around his first start in two months.
“He went out there and bulldogged his way through it like it was the last time he’d even pitch a game, and it might be,” said Aggie coach Rex Peters. “He put pain behind him and just kept grinding away and he was determined to win. It was really exciting to watch.”
Kirby, Hanke and James – in that order – all blasted home runs for UC Davis, driving in five of the team’s eight runs.
Sophomore Matt Dempsey and Kirby both finished the afternoon with three hits. James and LaTorre, who drove in two runs with a single in the eighth, each had two hits in the team’s storybook finale.
“It goes to show you that when you get 35 guys with one goal in mind – to win a ballgame – and not worry about their stats or anything else, just try and win a ballgame … pull the same direction, fight for the same cause and play with some desire and some passion … what can be accomplished,” Peters said. “We did that all weekend … both games we were into the game and guys were there to do one thing: win a ballgame.”
