Santa Barbara Pounds Smith, Shocks Titans, 9-1

Apparently UC Santa Barbara isn’t quite ready to concede the Big West Conference title to Cal State Fullerton. Behind the four-hit pitching of junior James Garica, the 25th-ranked Gauchos cruised to a 9-1 victory Friday night before 1,523 at Goodwin Field and moved to within a game of the first-place Titans.

UCSB (36-12, 10-3), ranked for the first time in five years, has won eight of nine. Fullerton (38-12, 11-2), ranked second by Baseball America, lost its second game in a row after winning 10 consecutive. The Titans, who had won 24 of 25 and hadn’t lost at home in almost two months, were limited to four hits by Garcia (10-1, 2.48 earned-run average) in the opener of a three-game series.

“I try not to get caught up in who the opponent is,” said Garcia, who pitched his third straight complete game and won his ninth decision in a row. “I just try to get ahead with my fastball and throw my slider as my out pitch.”

Garcia struck out seven and didn’t allow a runner past second after the third inning. His performance gives the Gauchos a chance to win their first Big West title in 15 years.

“To come in here and sweep these guys would be tough, but we just want to win the series tomorrow,” Garcia said.

Titan starter Jon Smith (9-2), had won 27 of 32 career decisions, but he didn’t have much command Friday. He allowed a run in the third on Dave Molidor’s single and Tyler Von Schell’s double off the wall, but he could have given up two more if not for center fielder Chris Stringfellow’s spectacular leaping catch at the wall on Donovan Warrecker’s drive.

After the Titans tied it, 1-1, in the bottom of the third inning on Robert Guzman’s sacrifice fly, Smith gave up three runs in the fourth. Warrecker lined a double down the right-field line to score Von Schell, who had walked and was balked to second. Jared Schumaker’s double in the left-center field gap scored Warrecker and Andy Campanella, who had walked on four pitches.

Chad Peshke made it 5-1 in the fifth with his first home run of the year, a blast that cleared the left-field scoreboard and landed on a car in the parking lot. Fullerton’s outfield defense might have saved another run in the fifth on Guzman’s leaping, over-the-shoulder catch of Jeff Bannon’s two-out line drive at the left-field wall.

Smith exited in the seventh after Von Schell’s third hit, a line drive off the glove of second baseman David Bacani. Mike Nunez, who hadn’t given up an earned run in six appearances, walked Bannon and gave up Warrecker’s two-run double to left-center, making it 7-1. He gave up two more runs in the ninth.

In another Big West game:

Long Beach State 9, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 3--Paul Macaluso had a home run and two RBIs and Bobby Crosby and Bryan Kennedy each drove in two runs for the host 49ers (32-18, 8-5). Matt Paz struck out six in six innings to improve to 7-6 for Long Beach.

The Mustangs are 28-22, 6-7.