Cal State Fullerton third baseman Matt Chapman throws to first after fielding a bunt and beats the UCSB runner for the out.
The Titans had a 9-0 lead going into the bottom of the 6th before the Gauchos responded with four runs and three more in the 7th while also shutting out the Titans offense the rest of the way.
The comeback attempt fell a bit short as Koby Gauna and Michael Lorenzen combined to pitch 2.2 scoreless innings to close out the game for the visitors.
?We played horrible the first five innings and got a bad start from our starter which we haven?t had very often,? said UCSB head coach Andrew Checketts. ?It was our first really bad start we had on Friday when we leave him out longer than we usually do to save our bullpen.?
Gauchos starting pitcher Kevin Gelinas lasted just 3.2 innings giving up seven runs ? five of which came in the first inning.
Titans first baseman Carlos Lopez led off the scoring with a double which was followed by Anthony Hutting?s two run triple just two batters later. Designated Hitter J.D. Davis made it 5-0 with a towering two-run home run that hit the netting behind the left-field wall.
It was one of three Fullerton homers. Michael Lorenzen added a two-run homer in the 4th to make it 7-0 while Matt Chapman added a solo shot in the 6th to close off the scoring for the Titans at 9-0.
?The first 5-6 innings we beat them but after that they beat us in every facet of the game,? Davis noted. ?It was a scrappy kind of a win in the end, but in the beginning it was a dominant win. It was a win where we need to remember play all nine innings instead of just wining by 2.?
Fullerton head coach Rick Vanderhook had a similar take on the game.
?I thought it was good for 6 innings, thought it was bad for 3 innings. We won 6 innings they won 3, thank goodness 6 is more than 3.?
Brandon Trinkwon and Mark Venning drove in two runs each for the Gauchos while designated hitter Greg Mahle went 2-4 with 2 runs. Jered Wilson also came into to stop the bleeding and Coach Checketts specifically mentioned his 2.1 innings of scoreless pitching as a turning point in the game.
?We played bad baseball for five and then we were able to pull ourselves up a little bit playing better baseball for the last four,? Checketts added.
It was indeed a tale of two games.
The loss brings UCSB?s record to 23-22 overall and 9-10 in the Big West. Cal State Fullerton is now 31-14 overall, 13-3 in the Big West and in first place by a game with eight games remaining.
The series continues Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Caesar Uyesaka Stadium where the Gauchos look to snap a four-game losing streak.
