UCSB pounds Anteater pitching in 7-4 victory

UCSB extended its winning streak to five games, opening Big West

Conference baseball with a 7-4 victory over UC Irvine’s Anteaters

Friday.

The hosts battered UCI pitching for 13 hits, including six for

extra bases, highlighted by Matt Wilkerson’s solo home run and

run-scoring triple.

The Gauchos scored five runs in the first three innings, led by

RBI doubles from Matt Stevens and Nic Rodriguez, and Wilkerson’s

three-bagger.

UCI’s John Horwitz was hit by a pitch to lead off the first inning

and later scored on an RBI single by Mark Wagner to give the

Anteaters a 1-0 lead.

The lead did not last long. The Gauchos scored three in the first

with the help of three extra base hits.

The Anteaters took the lead in the third inning with five hits,

including a sacrifice fly by Wagner and back-to-back RBI singles by

Jordan Szabo and Matt Fisher.

Wilkerson and Chris Malec both singled, and Brian Adams walked

loading the bases for shortstop Josh Fulton in the bottom of the

third inning. Fulton then delivered a two-run double down the right

field line, plating Wilkerson and Chad Ziemendorf and advancing Adams

to third. After an Anteater pitching change, Michael Koehler induced

a ground ball by Matt Stevens to end the inning, but not before the

Gauchos retook the lead, 5-4.

McCanne stroked an RBI double, scoring Sutton from first base in

the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Gauchos collected another run in the seventh on a solo home

run by Wilkerson, increasing their lead to 7-4 over the Anteaters.

UCSB improves to 18-13, 1-0 in the Big West. The Anteaters fall to

11-20, 0-1.

Game 2 of the three-game series is today at 1 p.m. on the Santa

Barbara campus. The three-game set wraps up on Sunday at 1 p.m.

*--*

Big West Conference

UCSB 7, UCI 4

Score by Innings

UCI 103 000 000 - 4 10 1

UCSB 302 001 10x -- 7 13 1

Swanson, Koehler (3), Raulinaitis (8)

and Werhun, Wagner; Thompson, Martin

(6), Ramirez (7), Morlock (9) and

Ziemendorf. W -- Thompson, 5-3. L --

Swanson, 1-5. Sv -- Morlock (7). 2B --

Stevens (SB), McCanne (SB), Rodriguez

(SB), Fulton (SB). 3B -- Wilkerson (SB).

HR -- Wilkerson (SB)

*--*