LONG BEACH, Calif. (May 12, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (31-14, 15-7 Big West) kicked off this Big West series as they took on the Long Beach State Dirtbags at Blair Field. It was a battle of the pitchers as only one run was scored, and despite the Gauchos' best efforts, that one run came from the Dirtbags, causing UC Santa Barbara to drop this first game on the road 1-0. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first inning looked hopeful for the Gauchos as both Jared Sundstrom and Aaron Parker hit doubles in the first as Sundstrom hit one up the left field line while Parker sent one to right field. However, Long Beach closed out the inning with no other damage, keeping the score at 0's. Matt Ager started the game on the mound for the Gauchos, keeping the first inning short as he retired the Beach in three batters. 

The second inning was quick for these two teams as no one made it across home plate and the pitchers retired one batter after another. Again, UC Santa Barbara pushed for a run after Nick Oakley's double down the left field line while Christian Kirtley was walked, putting two runners on the base path. However, the Long Beach's pitcher retired the next two batters, causing the inning to end with the score still sitting at 0-0.  

It wasn't until the fourth that someone made it all the way around the bases. Unfortunately for the Gauchos, the bad guys were the ones to do it. The Dirtbags made it home in the fourth inning to go up 1-0.

The rest of the game did not go as the visiting team hoped. UC Santa Barbara made contact with the ball in most of their at-bats, but there seemed to be a Long Beach player in every part of the field. Because of this, the Gauchos could not get a run on the scoreboard, resulting in the 1-0 loss to the Dirtbags in the opening game of the series.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• After pitching through seven innings and the first at-bat of the eighth, Ager finished the game with 10 strikeouts while not walking a single batter.
• Sundstrom, Parker and Oakley were the only Gauchos to register hits in tonight's game. All three of those hits were doubles.
• Parker also led the team's defensive efforts. He had the most putouts on the team today with 11, followed by Letrell McCollum with seven.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will be back on the field tomorrow evening for the second game of this series with Long Beach State. This game will be the first time UC Santa Barbara is on ESPNU this season with a 7:30 p.m. first pitch.