Cannon Celebrate
Carlos Puma
2
UC Santa Barbara UCSB 31-7
7
Winner UC Riverside UCR 15-25
UC Santa Barbara UCSB
31-7
2
Final
7
UC Riverside UCR
15-25
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UC Santa Barbara UCSB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 10 2
UC Riverside UCR 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 2 X 7 11 0

W: Haffar, Abbott (3-2) L: Dashwood, Jack (6-1) S: Granillo, Andre (2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Haffar Leads Baseball to Second Straight Win Over Top-10 UCSB

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – It wasn't pretty but pretty doesn't always win ball games. The UC Riverside Baseball team took game two of the series, 7-2. Led by sophomore Abbott Haffar who shut down the Gauchos for seven innings.
 
Haffar went seven scoreless innings, striking out five. It wasn't a game the coaching staff would have drawn up as he allowed seven hits and had six walks. But the sophomore fought and won the hard battles all night. In a game where his control wasn't perfect, Haffar showed his ability to buckle down when the team needed it the most.
 
The Highlanders took down top-10 ranked UCSB for the second consecutive game and their third overall in a row. It was another great performance top-to-bottom from the team as they showed their grit in tight situations.
 
Haffar started out the game like a man on a mission as he struck out the first two Gauchos with ease before the talented opponent made it interesting. With two outs in the first frame, Santa Barbara singled up the middle then Haffar walked the next two batters to make it bases loaded. But the sophomore from Simi Valley put an end to the momentum and struck out their six-hole hitter to end the inning.
 
The Highlanders scored a run in the bottom of the first on a wild pitch to give them the early lead. But it wasn't until the third inning when the bats really started to pick up.
 
Junior Travis Bohall got the party started with a one-out triple to right field. Next up, senior Dean Miller hit a rope over the right fielder Jason Willow's head. But as Willow made a move to catch the ball, his knee buckled; he was unable to finish the game. Miller turned the unfortunate situation into an inside-the-park home run.
 
Back-to-back Big West Player of the week showed why he remains the man on top. Cannon hit a moon shot to straight away center to give the Highlanders a 4-0 lead. That was his third home run of the series and his conference leading 15th of the season.
 
Third baseman Alec Arnone continued to flash the leather tonight as he made a highlight play at third on a dribbler on the line. He fired across his body to senior Yeager Taylor at first who scooped it up for the beautiful play.
 
Bohall also showed his defensive prowess in center field making a diving play for the second consecutive game. The Highlanders' defense has held their own against the nation's best fielding team.
 
UCSB kept around and tacked on two runs in the top of the eighth to make it 5-2 but freshman Andre Granillo wasn't going to let them back into the game. The freshman came in with runners on first and third and got out of it.
 
Riverside added two insurances runs with two outs courtesy of sophomore Dylan Orick's two-run single. Granillo closed out the ninth and earned his second save of the season.
 
The Highlanders will look to sweep the top-10 ranked Gauchos tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.