A winless outing in Cal Poly capped off the final Big West Conference series for the UCSB baseball team this past weekend. The Gauchos lost all three road games by a combined score of 29-14.

With the losses, UCSB drops to No. 7 overall in conference with a 10-14 league record and a 24-27 mark overall. The Mustangs currently rank No. 3 with a 12-8 league record.

Sunday’s series closer was the closest chance UCSB got to scraping together a win, yet Cal Poly was able to hold the lead through the ninth inning for a 9-8 victory. UCSB junior outfielder Brett Vertigan went two-for-four at the plate with one run and two RBIs, while senior outfielder Lance Roenicke went three-for-five with two runs and one RBI. Senior outfielder Joe Wallace led the Gauchos offensively on a three-for-four outing with two runs and one RBI in the game. Cal Poly senior shortstop Mike Miller went two-for-four on Sunday with two runs, while sophomore left fielder David Armendariz went three- for-four with one run. Cal Poly’s pitching staff allowed 17 hits on the day and gave up eight earned runs along with four strikeouts. UCSB’s Zak Edgington gave up five runs and 10 hits in six innings pitched, and Greg Mahle allowed four more runs in 1.2 innings.

Friday’s series opener provided the stage for Cal Poly’s junior right-hander Joey Wagman to throw a complete game, allowing the Mustangs to secure a 5-1 win. Wagman allowed just one run on five hits, while UCSB’s starter Kevin Gelinas threw five innings and allowed five earned runs. Gelinas struck out three batters in the process.

The Mustangs scored all five of their runs by the sixth inning, in which they led UCSB 5-0, and allowed only one run scored in the eighth. Vertigan led the Gauchos with two hits in four at-bats and one RBI, while freshman outfielder Luke Swenson scored UCSB’s only run of the game on Vertigan’s single. Saturday’s second game of the series saw UCSB give up the most runs to any team all season. Cal Poly’s 15 runs also mark a tie at the most that the Mustangs have scored this year (15 against Pacific on April 28). Eleven of the runs came in the fifth inning alone, an inning in which the Gauchos all but gave up the game to the Cal Poly offense. UCSB’s five runs came all in the second inning and highlighted a run sparked by Roenicke’s two-run double.

The high-scoring fifth inning for Cal Poly was catalyzed by a combination of junior center fielder Mitch Haniger’s three-run home run and a three-run triple that gave the Mustang offense the advantage for the remainder of the game. Haniger currently leads the league in slugging percentage with a .616 average.

UCSB returns to the practice field today in preparation for a home game against USC tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m., which will be the Gauchos’ final home game of the year.