MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's (24-14) was kept at arms distance all afternoon by UC Davis, with the Aggies besting the Gaels 9-3. UC Davis went ahead 3-0 in the fourth and never looked back, as the Gaels shaved the deficit to as tight as two before ultimately falling by six. 

Dylan Delvecchio earned the start and was strong for the first three innings, surrendering no runs and just one hit. The Aggies got to him in the fourth, however, plating three runs, two earned, before chasing him for Adam Enyart to start a string of seven bullpen arms. Owen Cuffe and John Damozonio were the two most effective pitchers, working a combined 1.2 innings scoreless, allowing the offense to cut the deficit to 5-3, but that would be the closest Saint Mary's would get. 

The Gaels struck for their first run in the bottom of the fourth, as, down 3-0 Nathan Chong stepped up with two runners on, and promptly banged a single back up the middle, scoring Ryan Pierce from second. Brian Duroff was eliminated trying to go first to third, but Chong was able to advance to second on the throw, but ultimately, was stranded there. 

Saint Mary's best chance to draw level came in the bottom of the eighth, trailing 5-1. Dalton Mashore ripped the first pitch of the frame down the left field line for a double, and Christian Almanza reached on a throwing error by the Aggies pitcher to put runners at the corners with no outs. Ryan Pierce flew out to right center, and while the fly ball wasn't deep enough to score Mashore, an errant throw to the plate moved Almanza up to second. Coleman Schmidt worked a walk, loading the bases for Brian Duroff, representing the tying run. While Duroff did not leave the yard to tie things up, he did drop a single in front of the left field, scoring both Mashore and Almanza to bring the deficit back to two. Both Nathan Chong and Jared Mettam would step up representing the tying run, but both were retired, and the Gaels continued to trail. 

Davis put the game out of reach with a four run ninth, restoring their lead back to six, where it would stand at the end of the contest. 

Dalton Mashore and Ryan Pierce each logged multi-hit games, with Mashore owning the only extra base hit for the Gaels. Saint Mary's stranded eight runners on the base paths today, as they struggled to cash in on scoring opportunities.

Saint Mary's will head to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos in a three game set starting on Friday. 

Saint Mary's full schedule can be viewed here and season tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

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