No. 24 UCLA Baseball Edged by UC Santa Barbara, 5-4
May 11, 2011
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LOS ANGELES - The No. 24 UCLA baseball team lost to UC Santa Barbara, 5-4, in a non-conference game Wednesday night at Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The visiting Gauchos scored three runs in the top of the fourth to claim a 3-1 lead and held on for a 5-4 win.
UCLA (27-18) limited UC Santa Barbara (21-21) to just four hits, but issued six walks and committed five errors in the Bruins' second midweek game in as many evenings. The Gauchos overcame an early 1-0 deficit with three runs in the fourth and added to their cushion with two runs in the sixth to lead, 5-2.
Jeff Gelalich led UCLA at the plate with a 3-for-4 effort, one RBI and one run. UC Santa Barbara's Derek Eligio went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Ryan Palermo went 1-for-4 with two runs and one RBI for the visiting Gauchos.
Left-hander Cameron Cuneo (1-0) secured his first victory of the season, limiting UCLA to one run and four hits in four innings of relief. UCLA right-hander Scott Griggs (1-1) was tagged with his first career loss, allowing three runs (two earned) and two hits in four innings. Griggs had five strikeouts and three walks.
Right-hander Brett Fick notched his first save of the season for UC Santa Barbara, tossing a perfect ninth inning.
The Bruins' two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth inning came up short. With two outs and Tyler Heineman aboard first base, pinch-hitter Brenton Allen drew a full-count walk. Gelalich's hard single on the infield loaded the bases. Beau Amaral lifted a shallow pop fly behind UC Santa Barbara second baseman Sean Williams, who collided with right fielder Mark Haddow in an attempt to retrieve the ball. After Heineman and Allen scored, Amaral was thrown out at second base attempting to advance to second base before Gelalich could safely cross home plate.
Trailing 1-0, UC Santa Barbara scored three runs in the fourth, drawing consecutive walks with one out. Palermo singled to center, scoring Mark Haddow from second base and took second base on an errant throw home. A wild pitch scored Trevor Whyte and moved Palermo to third base, before Joe Wallace had a run-scoring groundout.
Gelalich delivered a one-out RBI single up the middle in the fourth, reducing UC Santa Barbara's lead to 3-2.
The Gauchos added two unearned runs in the top of the sixth to push their cushion to 5-2. Palermo reached on a fielding error by Cody Regis and advanced to second base on an error by left fielder Cody Keefer. Wallace drew a walk, and both baserunners moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt by Joe Winterburn. With two outs, Derek Eligio singled through the left side of the infield, scoring Palermo and Wallace.
UCLA opens a three-game series against Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, May 13. Game time at Jackie Robinson Stadium is 6 p.m. The Bruins and Roadrunners continue their series Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans can listen to a live audio broadcast of each game online, free of charge, at uclabruins.com.
Game Notes: Jeff Gelalich recorded his seventh multiple-hit game of the season, his third three-hit effort of the year ... Beau Amaral was the only other Bruin to record at least two hits, going 2-for-5 with two runs ... Ryan Deeter pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in relief, logging one strikeout ... Wednesday's game was added to the schedule midway through the season after one of UCLA's three games at Cal Poly was canceled due to rain (weekend of March 19-21).