Aggies win two, lose three at Stanford softball invitational
Sawai and Grimes throw complete games, Dethlefson, Reeves and Kilday lead at the plate
PALO ALTO - It was an up and down weekend for UC Davis softball fortunes as the Aggies won two and lost three in the Cardinal Invitational on the Stanford campus.
The games were played in 50,400-seat Stanford Stadium while the school's softball complex is being renovated.
The Aggies beat Portland State twice, were run-ruled twice in losses to Stanford and dropped a single game to Big West Conference rival UC Riverside in the three-day affair.
UCD is now 5-4 in the early season.
UCD opened with a 2-0 win over Portland State as Caroline Grimes was in control with eight strikeouts in throwing a complete game two-hitter.
Grace Kilday gave the Aggies the only run they needed with a solo blast in the third, while Alyssa Dethlefson singled home Mickey Buscemi in the fourth.
Marley Panziera had a pair of singles for the Aggies, while Olivia McFarland added a triple.
The Aggies managed just two hits in a 12-1 run-rule loss to Stanford, then didn't fare much better in a 6-1 loss to Riverside.
Dethlefson accounted for the only UCD score with a sacrifice fly, while Rylee Reeves had two hits in a losing cause.
It was a different story in a 10-2 win over Portland State as the Aggies pounded out 12 hits to back a complete-game win for Ashley Sawai, who is now 3-1 on the year.
Riley Reeves tripled in the second to score Buscemi and Sydney Polli, then Dethlefson followed with a home run with Reeves aboard to complete a four-run outburst.
Kilday had a two-run single in the fourth, Reeves had a two-run single in the fifth and Bella Holtz had a two-run single in the seventh.
In the fifth and final outing of the tournament, the Aggies spotted Stanford a 5-0 lead, then tied things with five runs of their own in the third keyed by a two-run blast from Dethlefson and a single from Gia Felice that scored Polli and Reeves.
But Stanford scored five more in the third, then put the game away with three in the fifth to trigger the run rule.
The Aggies now head to the loaded Hillenbrand Tournament in Tucson where once again they'll meet No. 22 Stanford, plus No. 1 Texas, No. 17 Arizona twice and unranked Colorado State.
After concluding a 14-game road trip, the Aggies finally come home March 2 for a doubleheader featuring Nevada at noon and Sacramento State at 2:30 p.m.
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com
I think you may have buried the lede Bob. A 14-game road trip? That's crazy (no exclamation mark ...)