The UCSB baseball team (3-1 overall) played it close with #3 UCLA (2-1) in a 13-inning grind, but ultimately fell to the Bruins 4-5 in a very well pitched game on both sides. After the Bruins tied it up at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, neither team would score until a single in the bottom of the 13th off the bat of senior second baseman Alden Carrithers plated senior outfielder Brady Dolan for UCLA. Carrithers, who transferred to the Bruins after starting his career at UCSB, was two-for-five in the game with two runs batted in.

The Gauchos got off to a hot start, kicked off by senior outfielder Chris Fox’s triple in the first inning. Fox was promptly driven in by a double off the bat of junior catcher Chris McMurray. McMurray would strike again in the third inning, tacking on a run with an RBI groundout to put the Gauchos up 2-0. The Gauchos two-run lead would not hold up for long, as a swinging strike three in the bottom half of the third that should have ended the inning for UCLA ended up getting past McMurray, leading to a bases loaded situation. Sophomore reliever Anthony Martin would walk in the runner from third before striking out the side to end the inning.

The UCSB offense would have an immediate answer for UCLA, responding in the top of the fourth with a two-run single off the bat of freshman first baseman Eric Oliver, who had only recorded two RBI batting out of the three hole for the Gauchos until that base knock. Again, the Bruins would respond quickly, tacking on single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to tie the score. The sixth inning was particularly frustrating for the Gauchos, as UCLA’s final run was scored on two walks allowed by freshman Forest Cannon, followed by two hit batsmen by junior Matt Wade.

Sophomore right hander Clayton Edwards and senior left hander Kyle Brown would right the ship for the Gauchos, pitching a combined five and two-thirds innings, giving up only two hits with four strikeouts and zero runs allowed. Ultimately, junior reliever Zach Samuels gave up the game-ending hit to Carrithers to dash the Gauchos’ hopes of upsetting a Pac-10 power on the road.

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