April 14, 2007

Box Score

Santa Barbara, Calif. - Trailing 7-1 in the fourth inning the Pacific baseball team rallied to pull even at 7-7 before eventually falling to UC Santa Barbara, 8-7, on Saturday, April 14.

The loss dropped Pacific to 9-27-1 on the season and 0-5 in the Big West Conference, while UC Santa Barbara moved to 14-18 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

The Gauchos claimed an 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning as UCSB scored three runs on three hits, including a solo home run from Mario Lewis.

Pacific junior Jason Haar (San Diego, Calif.) got the Tigers on the board in the top of the second with a solo home run of his own over the right-center field wall. It was Haar's second career home run and the second of this season.

UCSB pushed its lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning with four runs on four hits, three errors and two walks.

As the Tigers have done so many times this season, Pacific rallied with three runs in fifth and three more in the sixth to tie the game at 7-7.

Junior Greg Murray (El Cerrito, Calif.) started Pacific's first surge in the fifth as he legged out a double into left-center field. Freshman Matt Fuson (Lodi, Calif.) followed with an RBI single into center field to make it 7-2. Junior Denis Hill (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) drew a walk to put runners and first and second. A single to right field off the bat of sophomore Joe Oliveira (San Diego, Calif.) loaded the bases with no outs. Sophomore Zach Chamberlin lifted a sacrifice fly into short center field moved everyone up 90 feet. Junior Justin Baum (La Mesa, Calif.) followed with an RBI ground out to close Pacific's scoring in the fifth and make it a 7-4 contest.

The Tigers' offense went back to work in the top of the sixth as the first three hitters reached base. Freshman Mike Walker (Marysville, Calif.) got things started with a base on balls. A sharp single of the bat of junior Brett Manning (Boulder, Colo.) ensued. After Murray was hit by a pitch, the Tigers had the bases loaded an no outs for the second inning in a row. Once again the Pacific hitters took advantage of the situation with good execution. Fuson started the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Walker. The next batter, Hill, bounced into a fielder's choice to force Murray at second, but Manning took third and Hill made it to first. Following a walk to Oliveira to load the bases again, Chamberlin laced a two-run single into left-center to tie the game at 7-7.

UC Santa Barbara, however, reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth with two walks, a sacrifice and an RBI single off the bat of Mike Zuanich.

Zuanich's hit proved to be the difference in the game as the Gauchos claimed the game, 8-7.

Matt Wade (1-0) notched the win, despite giving up the key hit to Chamberlin in the sixth as he pitched one-third of a inning.

Senior Jake Wild (Kingsburg, Calif.) suffered the loss by allowing one run on one hit and two walks in 2.1 innings to fall to 1-5 on the season.

Justin Segal notched his fifth save of the season with two innings of hitless relief.

Chamberlin led the Tigers' offense with two hits and three RBI in the loss.

The Tigers and Gauchos will play the series finale on Sunday, April 15 at 1 p.m. in Cesar Uyesaka Stadium.