LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. – San Diego State leadoff hitter Steven Pallares hit a second inning home run, scored three runs, and stole home in the eighth to score the game-winning run as the fourth-seeded Aztecs topped UC Santa Barbara 4-3 Friday night in the host's opening game at the Lake Elsinore, Calif. Regional at Storm Stadium.

Pallares's all-around effort and the SDSU (41-21) win wasted a pair of standout performances by the Gauchos, as redshirt sophomore center fielder Andrew Calica had four hits in four at-bats and starting pitcher Dillon Tate struck out a career-high 11 batters in a solid eight-inning outing.

A season-high 3,236 fans filled the seats of Storm Stadium, UCSB's temporary home for the weekend, as the Gauchos hosted their first-ever postseason game in their 10th all-time trip to the NCAA Regionals.

With the loss, UCSB (40-16-1) will now have to play an elimination game against USC (37-20, lost to Virginia 6-1 in the Regional opener) tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The Gauchos will serve as the home team in that contest and will send junior lefty Justin Jacome (7-4, 2.53) to the hill, where he will do battle against fellow standout southpaw Kyle Twomey (7-2, 2.81).

As with today's contests, tomorrow's showdown with the Trojans will be televised on ESPN3 and broadcasted over the air on KZSB AM 1290 and UCSBGauchos.com.

"It was a great college baseball game with a great atmosphere," said UCSB head coach Andrew Checketts. "I thought our guys really hung in there. You could see a little frustration early, but I felt we were able to compose ourselves and get back in the game."

Pallares' steal of home, which he claimed was the first he's ever successfully pulled off in his career, ended up being the decisive play in the game, breaking a 3-3 tie with the Gauchos just a strike away from ending the inning unscathed.

With Pallares on third base, and SDSU cleanup hitter Seby Zavala at the plate, Tate reverted to the windup after getting a two-strike count on Zabala. On both a 1-2 pitch that missed outside and a 2-2 offering that was fouled off, Pallares bluffed as if he was going to take off for home.

But on the next pitch, he really did take off, and Tate's pitch was high, allowing him to slide in just under the tag from UCSB catcher Campbell Wear.

"I was nervous about it until two strikes," said Checketts. "I could tell he was trying to do it. Once we got to two strikes, I was a little surprised that they did it with a guy who has 60 RBIs at the plate. Before then, we knew it was coming, but them doing it on two strikes caught us a little off guard."

After pulling ahead in the eighth, SDSU starter Max Derby seemed to find a little extra in the gas tank, retiring the final six Gaucho batters in order, including a pair of punchouts in the final frame.

The quick eighth and ninth innings capped off an excellent complete game start for Derby, who tossed 124 pitches, allowed three runs and seven hits, and struck out nine to improve to 8-4 on the season.

Tate and freshman reliever Kyle Nelson, who pitched the ninth, countered Derby by allowing no hits after that Pallares' steal in the eighth. That was quite the opposite of how the game started, with both teams scoring three runs over the first five innings.

SDSU jumped out in front in top of the first, as Pallares walked and shortstop Danny Sheehan singled to put the first two runners of the game on base. Pallares later came around to score on a wild pitch before Sheehan was cashed in with a Spencer Thornton RBI single.

The Aztecs pushed their lead to 3-0 in the second when Pallares hooked a hanging 0-2 Tate breaking pitch over the left field fence for a solo home run, but the Gauchos mounted a comeback soon thereafter.

UCSB scored its first run of the game in the second, as Dalton Kelly sharply singled into right-center field before coming around on a Clay Fisher groundout.

In the third, Calica slapped one of his two doubles on the day down the left field line, then came around on a wild pitch with Robby Nesovic at the plate.

The Gauchos then tied the contest in the fifth, as Calica smacked a base hit past a drawn-in infield to plate JJ Muno, who had looped a double over the left fielder's head to open the frame.

Tate really settled into a groove after allowing that second inning big fly, allowing just one hit from that point until the conclusion of the seventh inning. At one point, he retired 16 of 17 batters. His fastball sat in the mid-90's all game, flaming in as hot as 98 MPH.

He dropped to 8-5 on the season after receiving the loss, but he allowed just six hits and four runs while walking one against his career-best 11 punchouts.