Sophomore Mario Hollands struggled a week after his one-hit shutout of Loyola Marymount, and the No. 23 UCSB (9-4) offense could not make up for it in a 7-4 loss to St. Mary’s (10-4) on Friday at Louis Guisto Field.
Hollands’ follow up to his 10 strikeout performance in a 1-0 win over LMU last week, which netted him three player of the week awards, was not nearly as impressive. He gave up six runs in six innings, while walking five and only striking out one batter, falling to 2-2.
The Gauchos offense also cooled off after a hot weekend, in which they had 44 hits in a four-game sweep. After tallying only five hits against UCLA on Tuesday, they were only able to record six against the Gaels.
Senior right-hander Brian Justice (2-1) earned the win, allowing three runs over five-plus innings. Junior Jimmy Munill pitched the remainder of the game, giving up only one hit in over three innings on his way to earning a save.
Junior Zachary Samuels pitched the last two innings for UCSB. He allowed one run while striking out two.
Senior Shane Carlson hit a two-run double in the first inning that scored Brian Gump andRyan Cavan, giving the Gauchos their only lead of the game.
Cavan was the only Gaucho to record multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. He is still leading the team batting .474 on the season.
Third baseman Robby Cummings hit his second home run of the year, a solo shot in the sixth inning off Justice, who was replaced after Cummings’ at-bat.
The Gauchos return home on Mar. 22 to face UC Riverside in a brief two-game series. Season tickets for the best seats at Caesar Uyesaka are still available by clicking here. Every fan who purchases a ticket will receive a free baseball hat just like the one worn on the field.
