The answer to the early SJSU games turned out to be much simpler- the Mountain West Conference has a 10-run mercy rule after the 7th inning ! Even with that rule the Spartans managed to lose one game in Albuquerque
25-5!!!!
The mercy rule will really help out UC Davis because its pitching is not elite (really never has been) and it's going to get clobbered playing in all these hitter-friendly environments. The only way they really will win conference games on the road is to develop elite hitting so they can win HR derbies. Much easier said than done when half of the games are played at Dobbins Stadium. At least this way when they're getting destroyed they don't have to waste pitchers on the last 1-2 innings. That last part is important too because starting next season the maximum roster size drops from 40 to 34, so they can't carry as many pitchers.
The baseball roster for 2026 will be interesting too. According to UCDAVISAGGIES.COM 9 players were seniors this year, and junior Leighton Helfrick also graduated. So you have 30 potential returning players for 34 spots. However, they have at least 5-6 incoming freshmen per FieldLevel.com, and they're going to need a few junior college transfers too to make up for losing so many players to graduation, so I'm guessing these would-be returners may not be on the roster in 2026
OF Jack Castagnola- 2 years with the team. Barely played as a freshman, did not play as a sophomore.
P Sal Batres-borderline call. He pitched 2 years for UCD and was initially touted as a closer/starting pitcher, but he gave up 10 walks in 3 innings in 4 appearances this year per the UCD website, and had mixed results as a freshman. The talent is there but on a smaller roster I don't how many spots on the pitching staff they'll have.
P Zach Romero-another borderline call. His first two years were pretty decent for essentially getting just mid-week work. This year though he pitched in just 1 game, and it was late in the season, so it makes me wonder if he was injured or just dropped in the pecking order behind the freshmen ?
P Jack Meek-on the bubble. He just didn't pitch very well. On the bright side, junior college transfers tend more often than not to complete their senior seasons at UCD, and they usually improve. Also, he kept the walks to a minimum, which is very good.
P Sam Papp. He's been on the roster for 2 years and hasn't appeared in a game. In baseball that has more meaning than in football.
OF Caden Pinnick-he'll likely be too busy with football. If he were the third QB, a kicker, or punter and not as crucial to the main football practices I could see him playing baseball.
I did not include any of the other freshmen who didn't play this year (Schelp, Ireland) because it's not clear whether that was due to injury or coach's decision.
While I did use playing time as a metric in making this list I left Bonanno off of it because his UCD profile says he had TJ surgery during or prior to his true freshman year. It stands to reason he wouldn't play much this year. Perhaps others on the list have similar situations ?