UC Santa Barbara takes down ‘Eaters
Television crews from Fox Prime Ticket and ESPNU will broadcast the final two games of UC Irvine’s Big West Conference baseball series with UC Santa Barbara on Saturday and Sunday.
But opponents appear to be delivering all the exposure the Anteaters can handle these days.
The visiting Gauchos, ranked No. 20 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assn. pinned a 10-3 loss on UCI on Friday.
The setback, the third straight to tie the longest losing skid of the season, drops the ‘Eaters to 28-23, 8-11 in the Big West. With just five conference games remaining, UCI will need to win out to forge a winning conference record. And just one more loss will ensure the ‘Eaters’ first losing conference record since 2005, when they went 10-11.
And with its sixth loss in seven conference series openers this season, the most since 2003, UCI enters Saturday in eighth place among nine Big West teams.
Senior center fielder Evan Cassolato went four for five to highlight the hosts’ 11-hit attack, which included two hits and two runs batted in by sophomore designated hitter Keston Hiura.
Cassolato, who had two hits on Tuesday against USC, has lifted his batting average to .373, drawing him closer to Hiura (.379) for the team lead.
Junior right fielder Adam Alcantara singled in UCI’s first run in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.
Junior shortstop John Brontsema and junior second baseman Cole Kreuter also made sterling defensive plays, and Gillespie said he was pleased with the way his hitters competed against Gauchos’ junior right-hander Shane Bieber, who struck out 10 in his fourth complete game of the season.
“[Bieber] could be the pitcher of the year in this conference, and I think we competed pretty well [offensively],” Gillespie said.
In addition to Bieber, who improved to 10-3 and lowered his ERA to 3.12, UCSB (35-15-1, 11-8) had the better offense Friday. The visitors used eight players to compile its 13 hits, scoring in four innings, and never trailing.
UCI senior left-hander Elliot Surrey allowed eight runs (all earned) on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings in an atypically ineffective home start. Surrey came in having allowed three earned runs in 35 innings at Anteater Ballpark (an 0.77 earned-run average). In four of his previous five home starts, he did not allow an earned run.
But his second home loss dropped his record to 3-5 this season as pitching continues to be the weak spot for UCI this season.
Surrey walked two, hit four batters and struck out three with his 101 pitches.
Sean Sparling retired six of the seven hitters he faced as the last of four UCI hurlers. He allowed one hit in two scoreless innings.
UCI compiled eight of its 11 runners left on base in the first four innings, including leaving the bases juiced in the third, when Bieber struck out Kreuter and Grant Palmer to end the inning after just one run scored.
Hiura, who came in batting .197 in conference play, had been two for his last 24 with just one RBI in his previous six conference contests.
Alonzo Garcia and Cameron Bishop, both of whom share the staff lead with five victories in 2016, are scheduled to start on Saturday and Sunday for UCI.
Saturday’s game begins at 7 p.m. and Sunday’s first pitch is at 6 p.m.
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Big West Conference
UC Santa Barbara 10, UC Irvine 3
SCORE BY INNINGS
UCSB 003 201 400 – 10 13 0
UCI 001 200 000 – 3 11 2
Bieber and Grove; Surrey, Miller (7), Glazier (7), Sparling (8) and Guenette, Reitano (9). W – Bieber, 10-3. L – Surrey, 3-6. 2B – Hiura (UCI), Muñoz (UCI), Adams (UCSB). 3B – Gradford (UCSB) 2.