Santa Barbara, CA--Austin Sodders tossed seven innings of six-hit baseball, while Mark Contreras and Austin Colvin combined to go six for nine with three runs scored, as the Highlanders upended No. 19 UC Santa Barbara, 3-1.

The duo put UC Riverside (25-28, 11-11) on top 1-0 in the top of the first thanks in part to a Gauchos miscue. Colvin led off the inning with a single to left, and moved all the way to third on a failed pick off attempt. Contreras then lifted a sac fly to center to give the Highlanders the lead.

Another Colvin single to left in the top of the fifth set the table for UC Riverside second scoring rally, as the Highlanders banged out four straight singles and a sac fly to give Sodders (7-4) a 3-0 lead.

The junior left hander kept UC Santa Barbara (36-17-1, 12-10) off the board through the first four innings allowing just one base hit. In the bottom of the fifth, Sodders retired the first two batters on ground outs to first, but shortstop Colby Schultz couldn't handle Tevin Mitchell's grounder allowing him to reach. Mitchell stole second, and scored on an Andrew Calica single to right. UC Santa Barbara loaded the bases with two more singles, but Sodders got Dempsey Grover to ground into a fielder's choice ending the threat.

Jared Morton pitched a scoreless eighth, and Alex Fagalde did likewise in the ninth for his third save of the season. Colvin made his imprint on the game on the defensive end in the ninth, robbing Bill Fredrick of a home run to keep it a two-run game.

The Highlanders and Gauchos play game two of their three-game series Friday at 3 pm PT.