DAVIS – Rylee Reeves and her UC Davis softball teammates are taking pride when walking into the batter’s box this season.
Reeves, a 2024 Pitman High School graduate who was a standout in the Pride’s softball program, and her Aggie teammates are having a productive season that will include postseason action.
Entering Friday’s Big West Conference doubleheader at Cal Poly, UCD had a team batting average of .284, which is ranked third in the conference. Hawaii is second at .290, Long Beach State and UC San Diego are tied for first at .305.
The Aggies’ improvement at the plate is better than the 2025 team batting average at .242.
That has been a big plus for UCD, which is 16-10 in the Big West and 27-23 this season going into Saturday’s rubber match against the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo. The 2025 UCD squad finished at 9-18 in the Big West and 15-36 overall.
Reeves is sixth on the team in batting average at .276. During the 2025 season, she was third at .290.
“Rylee is having a very solid season,” said UCD head coach Erin Thorpe of Reeves. “She is a fierce competitor and is an extremely athletic softball player… always a force to be reckoned with.”
From drop balls to inside pitches, Reeves and the Aggies know when to pull the trigger when they are at the plate.
“She has a great eye and will attack if you put the ball in the zone,” said Thorpe of Reeves.
Gia Felice is the Aggies’ leading hitter entering Friday’s doubleheader with a .367 batting average. Teammate Sydney Polli is second at .366.
The next three leading hitters, like Reeves, are sophomores. Alyssa Dethlefson is third at .308. Claire Shelton is fourth at .299 and Naomi Kalanetra fifth at .283.
Kalanetra has six of the Aggies’ 19 home runs this season.
Three UCD players have three triples each this season in Polli, Dethlefson and Marley Panziera, a junior.
Polli and Dethlefson each have nine doubles, tied among team leaders.
Defense
On defense, Reeves started in 48 of 52 games at second base or shortstop this season. She started at the latter position in both games against Cal Poly.
Reeves has a .947 fielding percentage that includes recording 90 outs and turning five double plays.
“On defense, she uses her athleticism to make some amazing plays,” said Thorpe of Reeves. “She is solid in routine plays as well, which makes her such a strong defender.”
In the circle, Ashley Sawai, a junior, has a 12-4 record this season. She picked up another win on Friday over Cal Poly.
Caroline Grimes, a senior, has fanned out 106 batters this season.
Postseason
UCD has already earned a berth in the Big West Softball Championship Tournament when it swept Santa Barbara last weekend.
The Aggies were tied for fifth place entering Friday’s games at Cal Poly. Santa Barbara is fourth at 17-7 and 27-22, Hawaii second at 18-6 and 26-18 and CSU Fullerton alone in first place at 22-2 and 35-12.
UCD could grab the No. 2 seed, depending on the results of Hawaii and Fullerton’s games against UC Riverside and Santa Barbara respectively this weekend.
‘Finish up strong’
“We are just trying to finish up strong in this last conference series before heading down to the tournament,” said Thorpe prior to Friday’s doubleheader.
The team that wins the Big West tournament, which begins Wednesday, May 6 and runs through Saturday, May 9 in Fullerton, would advance into the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament that features the best 64 teams in the United States.
Playing in the Big West tournament is a big deal for the Aggies. The conference tournament is only in its second year of existence. The conference champion earned an automatic qualifier to the D-I tournament through 2024.
“We want to be playing our best ball in May and that is what are fighting for,” Thorpe said.
UCD is moving to the Mountain West Conference for most sports beginning July 1.
The Aggies football program, which has been a dominant force since head coach Tim Plough took over at his alma mater before the start of the 2024 season, will remain in the Big Sky Conference.
