SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball let an early lead slip as the host UC Santa Barbara Gauchos roared back using the home run ball to knot the series up Saturday at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium winning 13-8.
Everything was UC Irvine (20-11, 6-8) early on starting in the second inning. A single and an error got the inning started with
Jo Oyama keeping things going with a bunt single.
Caden Kendle socked a sacrifice fly to start the scoring, and he was followed by a booming triple by
Thomas McCaffrey to score two more and finished off by
Anthony Martinez's monster home run down the right field line to complete a five-run frame and put UCI up 5-0. The offense continued to build with two more runs in the fourth inning as Oyama and Kendle were at it again forcing an error on their double steal to score Oyama and Kendle would come around on the next play from a sacrifice fly giving UCI the 7-0 advantage in the fourth.
Â
UCSB (22-10, 7-4) responded with a solo home run to start off the bottom of the inning and get on the board. After another run in the frame, they still trailed 7-2, but quickly found their hitting shoes in the next inning hitting three more home runs including the backbreaking blow by Jonah Sebring, a three-run shot, to put the Gauchos up, 8-7, and fully erase the seven-run deficit in two half innings.
The Anteaters continued to scrap and found the tying run in the seventh inning. After loading the bases and forcing a pitching change,
Dub Gleed popped a ball into shallow right field.
Luke Spillane attempted to tag up and score but was thrown out on the plate quickly turning a bases loaded, no out situation into two on and two out. Oyama came to the rescue once again doubling home a run with two outs to make it an 8-8 game.
The Gauchos made their own two-out rally in the bottom of the inning with a double and single to snatch the lead back, 9-8, and put the game out of reach in the eighth with their fifth home run of the game toward the final of 13-8.
"Hurts when you're up 7-0 and lose. First 3 1/2 innings, everything's going right, and the final five innings, nothing goes right," noted head coach
Ben Orloff. I'm sure everybody's feeling like you're about to win a series, so to come back tomorrow and win is going to require some toughness to move on from this one and play a good game against a team that really, really good."
Pitching could not catch a break as six of the seven pitchers on the day allowed a run.
Danny Suarez was effective as the starter allowing two runs over four innings with five strikeouts.
Andre Antone was the hard-luck loser, the first of his six-year career, as he went 2.1 scoreless innings before the Gauchos put the go-ahead run on him. The staff allowed five home runs on Saturday, the most since 2009 when the 'Eaters gave up six to the Gauchos at their place.
The bats had bright spots starting with three-hit games by
Anthony Martinez, who drove in two including his team-leading seventh home run, and Oyama who crossed home twice. McCaffrey continued his RBI surge with three more today to give him 13 in his last six games.
The tough loss was the first suffered on a Saturday for UCI this year, now 7-1 while snapping a brief three-game winning streak. The series comes to a head Sunday at 1:05 p.m. for a first pitch with either side yet to name a starter.
