California Baptist University Rallies for 9-8 Win Over UC Davis

California Baptist University erased a 2-0 deficit and beat UC Davis 9-8 on Friday afternoon at Dobbins Stadium. The Aggies finished their regular season at 26-27 overall and 14-16 in Big West play, then had to wait on other results to learn whether their season would continue.

Dobbins Stadium Fifth-Inning Surge

UC Davis had grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Ethan Felix hit a two-run home run. Cal Baptist answered in the top of the fifth with eight runs and never gave the lead back, turning a 2-0 deficit into an 8-2 advantage in one inning.

That burst ended the game’s tightest stretch before the fifth. UC Davis trimmed the margin to 8-3 in the bottom of the inning when Tyler Howard drove in Ryan Lee with a sacrifice fly, but the Aggies never got closer than five runs after that.

Tommy Nicholson and the Aggies

Tommy Nicholson had already framed the stakes before Thursday’s game, saying, “We are excited to follow the action in the Big West this weekend,” and, “We’ve looked at all the scenarios and will certainly have rooting interest in a number of games. We know we need a lot of help.” UC Davis entered Friday in sixth place behind CSU Fullerton and needed help to get the fifth berth into the Big West Conference Championships.

Cal Baptist, which plays in the Western Athletic Conference, finished the three-game series sweep after winning 6-3 on Wednesday night and 4-2 on Thursday night. Connor Ross added the final run in the top of the eighth with a two-out home run to left center field, giving the visitors the cushion they needed to close out the series.

Big West Race in Irvine

The loss left UC Davis waiting on other Big West results with the conference championships scheduled for Wednesday, May 20 through Sunday, May 24 in Irvine. Friday was the Aggies’ last regular-season game, and their path forward depended on help from elsewhere rather than anything left on their own schedule.