FULLERTON – Playing in the shadow Disneyland, the UCSB baseball team felt like it just got off the spinning Tea Cups ride after losing its third straight one-run game against eighth-ranked Cal State Fullerton on Sunday.
Anthony Trajano singled in two tying runs and Blake Barber delivered the game winning hit both with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as Fullerton rallied for 3 runs to pull out a dramatic 5-4 Big West Conference victory over the Gauchos.
The Gauchos fell to 14-16, 2-4 after leading the entire game. The Titans (27-9, 8-1) won their sixth in a row and swept the series with three come-from-behind, one-run victories.
Tyler Pill for Fullerton and UCSB’s Matthew Vedo both pitched outstanding games before being relieved
Chad Wallach began the ninth-inning rally by drawing a four-pitch walk from Nick Capito. Nick Loredo came on and retired pinch-hitters Walker Moore and Anthony Hutting. But Ivory Thomas singled to right center. Pinch-runner Austin Kingsolver aggressively went to third base which left second base open for Thomas to steal on the second pitch. Trajano then bounced a 3-1 pitch up the middle to tie the game.
Loredo then balked Trajano to second before intentionally walking Nick Ramirez. Barber, who began the day hitting .178, had pinch hit for Pill in the eighth and remained in the game as the designated hitter. He lined a 1-2 pitch into left-center field to easily score Trajano from second.
Mark Haddow singled and scored twice and the Gauchos picked up a pair of unearned runs to forge its 4-2 lead.
Vedo allowed only 2 runs and 4 hits in 6.2 innings. Pill allowed only one earned run and 5 hits while matching his career high with 11 strikeouts.
The Gauchos sccored twice in the first inning. With one out, Brandon Trinkwon doubled and went to third on a single by Sean Williams, who advanced to second when Michael Lorenzen’s throw home got away for an error. Trinkwon scored on a passed ball and Williams scored an unearned run when Pill struck out Haddow with a wild pitch that bounced off catcher Casey Watkins and rolled up the first-base line.
Fullerton quickly halved the 2-run deficit. Thomas doubled off the centerfield fence, stole third and scored as Trajano grounded to second.
Both teams used their legs for a run in the fourth inning. UCSB’s Haddow led off with a single, stole second and continued to third on Watkins’ throwing error. He scored on Joe Wallace’s one-out ground ball to short.
Lorenzen walked to open the bottom half, stole second and scored on Wallach’s one-out single to center.
UCSB scored in the ninth when Haddow led off with a single, was bunted to second, stole third and scored on Joe Winterburn’s two-out single to center.
