MORAGA – Five Saint Mary’s pitchers held UC Santa Barbara to just four hits as the Gauchos’ four-game winning streak came to an end with a 2-1 loss on Monday at Louis Guisto Field.
While UCSB managed just four hits on the afternoon – two by Brett Vertigan – the Gauchos did draw eight walks on the afternoon and threatened with runners in scoring position in five separate innings, but never got the big hit.
Santa Barbara’s best chance came in the eighth inning when the team loaded the bases with one out but could only push one run across on Ryan Palermo’s sacrifice fly, scoring Brandon Trinkwon.
The Gaels (19-19 overall) scored both of its runs in the fifth inning on Patrick Wisdom’s solo home run – his fifth of the year – and a run-scoring triple by Ricky Boas against Greg Mahle.
Mahle (1-3) went six strong innings but had to take the loss despite allowing just those two runs on five hits. The freshman left-hander struck out six.
The Gauchos (21-18) were seeking to win for the fifth straight time, which they haven’t done since the 2010 season. They’ll get a chance to start a new streak this Friday when they host UC Davis for three games. Friday’s game starts at 3 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday each at 1 p.m.
