A combination of untimely pitching errors and lack of hitting spelled doom for the Long Beach State baseball team, as UC Santa Barbara took advantage, winning back-to-back games to take the opening series in the Big West from the Dirtbags.
The Dirtbags’ (17-10, 1-2) series loss was their first after winning six straight series to start the year.
“I thought [UCSB] completely controlled the tempo,” Dirtbags head coach Troy Buckley said. “We got out-tempo[ed], out-executed, out-competed, and out-coached in every facet.”
While the Dirtbags got out to a 2-0 lead on Friday night with right-hander Chris Mathewson on the mound, UCSB answered right back, tying the game after a two-run homer from sophomore infielder Austin Bush. The Gauchos then took a 3-2 lead in the fifth after Mathewson gave up a leadoff homer to junior outfielder Andrew Calica.
LBSU tied it at 3 in the seventh after junior shortstop Garrett Hampson hit an RBI single that scored senior infielder Zack Domingues.
The Gauchos scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning when sophomore pitcher Lucas Jacobsen threw three wild pitches that allowed junior outfielder Devon Gradford to advance from first all the way home.
LBSU lost to UCSB 4-3 on Friday night.
“There’s small margins for error,” Buckley said.
On Saturday, the Dirtbags got a lift as Hampson hit his first homer at Blair Field, giving LBSU a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
“I haven’t hit enough of those to know right off the bat,” Hampson said. “But I did know I hit it pretty well.”
Sophomore pitcher Darren McCaughan continued his hot start to the year, pitching three scoreless innings until the Gauchos tied the game in the fourth after J.J. Muno hit an RBI single with the bases loaded.
UCSB took the lead after freshman catcher Thomas Rowan hit a leadoff single. Rowan would score after advancing on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly to give the Gauchos a 2-1 lead.
Buckley said that his team played a little tight while UCSB played with a bit more of a relaxed mindset.
“They played free,” Buckley said. “They came in here to make a statement. We tried to counterbalance that by being in neutral. Sometimes we’ll try and step on the gas and [we make] poor decisions. Sometimes we’ll back off the gas and that’s when they should step on the gas.”
The Dirtbags got things going again on Sunday as they beat UCSB 2-0 avoiding the sweep.
“[This] was very much needed; not to get swept,” Buckley said. “You can’t get swept in conference. It’s really difficult, I believe that every conference loss is almost like two losses, because you have limited opportunities to play everybody.”
Senior Tanner Brown was cooking on the mound as he pitched eight innings, allowing only two hits and striking out five.
“The defense played great,” Brown said. “They made a couple of great plays. I just stayed down, and threw a lot of strikes and this was a big win.”
Facing a sweep and coming off his three-inning outing against Cal State Fullerton last week, the right-hander showed great command of his pitches.
“Walking into this one I knew we had to win,” Brown said. “I knew I had to do well for my team and just pound the zone.”
LBSU will be back in action Tuesday at 6 p.m. as the Dirtbags travel to San Diego State for a non-conference game.