Eight 2009 UCSB baseball players have signed contracts with major league teams and many have already reported to their minor league clubs.   Third-round draft pick Joe Gardner, chosen 94th overall by the Cleveland Indians, has signed a contract. Gardner, who was an All-Big West First Team selection, was the highest-drafted player in the Big West, a conference that had two nationally-ranked teams in the NCAA postseason and has featured at least one team in the College World Series in eight of … [Read more...]

UCSB senior pitcher Zach Samuels has signed a free agent deal with the Detroit Tigers, bringing the number of 2009 Gauchos associated with major league teams to 10.   A school-record nine UCSB players were drafted in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft, held from June 9-11, a mark which also led the Big West. Joe Gardner was the conference's highest-selected player, chosen in the third round - 94th overall - by the Cleveland Indians. The Big West is a conference that had two … [Read more...]

On the second day of Major League Baseball's draft, five UCSB baseball players were selected.A day after pitcher Joe Gardner was taken in the third round by the Cleveland Indians, several Gauchos heard their names called, bringing the total number of UCSB players taken this year to six.Gardner was also the first player selected from the Big West, a conference that had two nationally-seeded teams in this year's playoffs and has had at least one team in the College World Series eight of … [Read more...]

Four different UCSB baseball players homered on Saturday, part of a school-record six homer day as the Gauchos blasted top-ranked UC Irvine, 8-2 at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.Brian Gump and Mark Haddow each homered twice, with the two outfielders sending their shots out of the yard in the same inning as the Gauchos defeated a No. 1 team for the first time since knocking off Cal State Fullerton in 2001.The six homers set a UCSB record for home runs at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. The Gauchos had … [Read more...]

Zach Samuels pitched six strong innings on Sunday as the UC Santa Barbara baseball team salvaged its three-game series with UC Riverside with a 6-4 victory at the Riverside Sports Complex.Samuels allowed four runs on six hits in six innings, striking out three as the Gauchos snapped a brief two-game losing streak. The senior improves to 3-2 while the Gauchos inch closer to 30 wins with a 28-21 overall record and a 10-11 mark in Big West play. UCR falls to 31-18, 10-11.The Gauchos scored … [Read more...]

RIVERSIDE - Despite scoring two runs in the ninth, UCSB's baseball team could not overcome a four-run deficit and dropped its second game in a row to UC Riverside, falling 9-7 on Saturday at the Riverside Sports Complex.Mario Hollands allowed eight runs on 10 hits in 6.2 innings pitched, his toughest outing of the season. Although the Gauchos banged out 12 hits for the second game in a row, it was not enough to overcome UCR.UCSB falls to 27-21 overall and 9-11 in the Big West while the … [Read more...]

UCSB's Joe Gardner suffered a strained oblique and thus had his shortest outing of the season on Friday, lasting just two innings as the Gauchos dropped the opener of a three-game series to UC Riverside, 9-4 at the Riverside Sports Complex.The loss snapped UCSB's four-game winning streak. … [Read more...]

Juniors Matt Valaika and Joe Gardner helped lead UCSB's baseball team to four victories last week, notching each of them the Big West Player and Pitcher of the Week.It is the first time the Gauchos swept the conference honors since April 30, 2001 whenChad Peshke and Jim Bullard took home Player and Pitcher of the Week awards.Valaika went 8-for-13 (.615) in four games last week, scoring six runs, knocking in nine more and hitting four doubles and a home run. … [Read more...]