UC Riverside Baseball Drops Rubber Match To UC Santa Barbara, 3-1

Sunday, April 1

Santa Barbara, CA

1:00 PM

UC Riverside

UC Santa Barbara

UC Riverside Baseball Drops Rubber Match To UC Santa Barbara, 3-1

4/1/2012 5:01:00 PM | Baseball

Santa Barbara, CA—UC Santa Barbara (14-12, 2-1) scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie and pick up a 3-1 win over UC Riverside (8-13, 1-2) Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of the three-game series between the clubs. (Box Score)

Trevor Frank (0-4) allowed just five hits through his first seven innings of work giving up an unearned run in the bottom of the second. But in the bottom of the eighth, Brett Vertigan opened the frame with a double, and after Bryce Tafelski sacrificed Vertigan to third, Ben Doucette came on in relief of Frank.

Brandon Trinkwon and Greg Mahle greeted Doucette by drawing back-to-back walks on nine pitches to load the bases, and Doucette plunked Joey Wallace on a 2-0 pitch scoring Vertigan.

Mitch Patito took over for Doucette, and he gave up a sac fly to right off of Luke Swenson's bat to make it 3-1 UC Santa Barbara. One batter later, Patito ended the threat on a ground out to third.

Mahle recorded his third save for the Gauchos by retiring the Highlanders in order in the top of the ninth to close out the game.

Jeremy Peterson (1-3) picked up first win of the season by throwing two thirds of an inning of scoreless relief.

UCSB scored its first run of the game in the bottom of the second thanks to a pair of singles by Mahle and Marc Venning and an error by third baseman Cody Hough.

The Highlanders evened the score in the top of the fourth when Joey Gallaway laced a two-out single to center and Nick Vilter followed with a double to left scoring Gallaway.

But that's all the offense UC Riverside could muster as Gauchos starter Zak Edgington scattered seven hits and two walks through seven-and-a-third innings.

He was lifted in the top of the eighth as the Highlanders threatened to break the 1-1 tie loading the bases with one out. But Peterson got Gallaway to hit into a double play to end the frame.

UC Riverside returns home this weekend to host Long Beach State for a three-game series. Game one is slated for Thursday, April 5 with first pitch scheduled for 6 pm PT.