Desperate to keep pace in a clustered Big West Conference race, UC Santa Barbara (31-19, 10-8 Big West) grabbed an early lead and never relinquished it Sunday at Blair Field.
After taking the first two games this weekend, the Dirtbags (30-18, 11-7 Big West) were stifled most of the afternoon by Gauchos starter Chuck Higgins (8-2). The senior left-hander scattered nine hits and gave up three runs over 7 2/3 innings of work.
“It was a really frustrating game,” Long Beach State head coach Mike Weathers said. “(Higgins) was keeping us off balance.”
Long Beach starter Jake Thompson (2-5) couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning and took the loss, giving up four runs on seven hits. A quartet of relievers kept the Dirtbags in the game by allowing just one more Gaucho tally.
Weathers even went to the mound twice, something he rarely does. “I wanted to calm Jake down early,” he said. “He’s a young guy and he still has to figure out some situations.”
Offensively it was Irvine native Eric Oliver that led the way for UCSB. His two-out solo home run in the first cleared the left field wall to give the Gauchos a 1-0 lead. Second baseman Gunnar Terhune had three hits and four other Santa Barbara players had a pair.
Trailing the entire game, Long Beach brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth after pinch-hitter T.J. Mittelstaedt led off with a single to right field. But their hopes were quickly dashed when Jonathan Jones struck out and Steve Tinoco hit sharply into a game-ending double play.
Long Beach closed the gap to 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth when Shane Peterson doubled home Jones, who went 3-for-5 with three singles. Jason Corder scored on a Brandon Godfrey sacrifice fly, but Jason Tweedy struck out with the bases loaded to end the threat.
Peterson, the Dirtbags’ designated hitter, was 3-for-3 finishing just a home run shy of his second cycle this season. Weathers credited his success with “swinging early in the count. He’s been taking a lot of pitches recently,” he said.
Shortstop Danny Espinosa, who had two hits, kept the Dirtbags in the game with a couple of fine defensive plays, as well. He threw out Terhune trying to score on a grounder in the sixth and saved at least a run by going deep into the hole to field a ball off the bat of Eric Oliver in the sixth.
Espinosa was optimistic after the game. “We got the series win,” he said. “Coach set that goal, and this got us closer to first place.”
“We are a lot more excited,” Espinosa said in regards to the team’s morale. “When we were losing a lot we were down, but we have that feeling again of going out and knowing that we are going to win.”
LBSU travels to San Diego State Tuesday for a non-conference game with the Aztecs at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The first pitch is at 6 p.m.
