DAVIS, Calif. (Interstat) — California Baptist held off a furious UC Davis rally to win 9-8 on Friday afternoon and evening at Dobbins Baseball Complex, clinching the three-game series sweep.

The Lancers improved to 43-13, while the Aggies fell to 26-28.

California Baptist jumped ahead early with a nine-run fifth inning that erased a 2-0 deficit and gave the visitors an 8-2 lead. The inning featured a two-run homer by Cole Howarth, who entered as a pinch hitter and finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Bryce McFeel doubled in a run, Cole Hansen singled in two more and Ben Castelli doubled in another. Riley Hunsak added an RBI single, and Howarth later drove in a run with a single to cap the outburst.

UC Davis answered in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the lead to 8-3 on a sacrifice fly by Howard.

The Aggies staged a dramatic comeback in the seventh. With two outs and the bases loaded, shortstop Elijah McNeal launched a grand slam to left center, scoring Mault, Wooldridge and Lee. McNeal went 1 for 5 with four RBIs. The blast pulled UC Davis within 8-7.

California Baptist answered in the top of the eighth when third baseman Connor Ross homered to left center, restoring a two-run lead at 9-7. Ross finished 2 for 4 with a homer and an RBI.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Aggies mounted one final threat. Wooldridge reached on a two-base error by the second baseman. After a flyout and a walk, McNeal lined out. First baseman Ethan Felix then singled up the middle, scoring Wooldridge to make it 9-8. Felix went 3 for 5 with a homer and three RBIs. Williams walked to load the bases, but Wright flied out to right field to end the game.

Pitching played a key role for both sides. UC Davis starter Noel Valdez threw four scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out three. Braydon Wooldridge added two scoreless innings in relief, giving up two hits and striking out one. For California Baptist, Michael Malki tossed two shutout innings with one strikeout, and Andrew Rudd worked one and two-thirds hitless innings with two strikeouts to earn the win. Noah Smith recorded one out in the eighth before giving way to Rudd.

The game featured a combined 26 hits – 15 for California Baptist and 11 for UC Davis. The series sweep was the third straight for the Lancers, who have won seven of their last nine games. UC Davis dropped its fourth straight contest despite outscoring the Lancers 5-4 over the final four innings.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of California Baptist 8, UC Davis 7, and Interstat’s ELO system gave California Baptist a 61.60 percent probability to win.