Epperson’s Walk-Off Blast Gives Gauchos 7-6 Win Against Anteaters

This story originally appeared on ucsbgauchos.com

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Junior left fielder Joey Epperson provided a satisfying finish for Gauchos fans in Sunday’s rubber match with No. 19 UC Irvine, smacking a walk-off home run off Anteaters closer Race Parmenter in the bottom of the ninth inning to erase a two-run deficit and give UCSB a 7-6 win to clinch their second series of the year over a ranked opponent.

Trailing 6-4 at the time, UCSB’s three-run ninth got started when sophomore center fielder Cameron Newell led off the inning with a swinging-bunt single to third base. After a stolen base – his tenth of the season – and a wild pitch, right fielder Luke Swenson walked to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Pinch-hitter Parker Miles brought the Gauchos within one by hitting a sacrifice fly that scored Newell, but Dalton Kelly – another pinch-hitter – struck out to put UC Irvine one out away from a win.

Epperson – who was already 2-3 to that point with an RBI and a run scored – then stepped in, and immediately stepped out, sending a first-pitch fastball over the left-center field fence to clinch the Gauchos’ fifth consecutive home series win. To add insult to injury, it was Epperson’s first home run in a UCSB uniform.

The Lafayette, Calif. native extended his hitting streak to a dozen games with his 3-4 performance, matching Newell for the longest hitting streak by a Gaucho this season. With an 8-14 line over the weekend, he compiled a lofty 1.000 slugging percentage. Newell’s ninth-inning single saved his new hitting streak, which currently sits at 11.

The Gauchos – winners of thier last three series – move to 25-20, 10-8 with the win, while UC Irvine fell to 29-15, 11-7. UCSB has still not lost a series at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium this year, going 5-0-1 in their six home sets, with the split coming against USF from Feb. 22-24.

The eventual win was reminiscent of yesterday’s 5-3 victory, as the Anteaters again fought back from a 3-0 deficit before eventually faltering.

The Gauchos put three runs on the board early off UCI starter Andrew Morales, who entered the game with a 9-0 record and 1.60 ERA. Sophomore second baseman Woody Woodward provided RBI singles in the first and third innings, while Trinkwon preceded Woodward’s second base hit with an RBI double down the left field line.

UCSB starter Andrew Vasquez locked down the Anteaters lineup through the first three innings, racking up five punchouts against just one hit. However, he wasn’t as successful the second time through the lineup, giving up a two-run home run to Scott Gottschling in the fourth – his second of the series and the season – and leaving the bases loaded before making way for Greg Mahle in the sixth inning.

Mahle allowed just one run to score in that sticky situation, closing the book on Vasquez and giving him a line of 5 1/3 innings pitched with three runs and five hits allowed with three walks and six strikeouts for the day.

The Anteaters kept it rolling off Mahle, netting a trio of two-out hits to push another pair of runs across in the seventh and give them their first lead of the day at 5-3. Epperson’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh was negated by Connor Spencer’s ninth inning RBI base hit, which set the stage for UCSB’s second walk-off win of the year in the bottom half of the ninth.

Jared Wilson picked up the win for the Gauchos – his first decision of the year – as the senior righty allowed one run while pitching the ninth. Parmenter suffered the loss for UCI, dropping his record to 2-3.

Trinkwon added three hits for the Gauchos in the win, while freshman right-hander Dylan Hecht was the only UCSB pitcher to not allow a run, striking out the side in the eighth inning as part of a scoreless, 1 1/3 inning outing.

For the second straight week, the Gauchos will not be in action midweek, but instead will travel south to take on the second-place CSUN Matadors in a crucial series for both teams. The Matadors trail league-leading Cal State Fullerton by one game in the conference standings, while UCSB finds itself one game behind UC Irvine and Cal Poly for third place in the Big West.

 

Gauchos get a walk-off home run to take the series from Irvine

Video highlights from UCSB’s series win against UCI, including Joey Epperson’s walk-off home run Sunday.

Newell Takes Home Big West Field Player of the Week Honors

The following is an article originally published on ucsbgauchos.com

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UCSB sophomore center fielder was named Big West Field Player of the Week after hitting .643 over four games against the University of San Diego and UC Riverside, the conference announced on Monday afternoon.

This is the first time a Gaucho has been named the Field Player of the Week this season. The last UCSB player to take home the honor was Brett Vertigan in April 2012.

Newell was as locked in as possible at the plate over the past week, going 9-14 for a .643 average. The speedy lefty also drew a walk and was hit by a pitch twice to give him an impressive .706 on-base percentage. His exploits with the bat led the Gauchos to a 3-1 record.

In Wednesday’s win over USD, he picked up a pair of singles while driving in a pair of runs, scoring two more himself, and stealing a base.

Over the weekend at UC Riverside, Newell had three-hit performances on Friday and Sunday, and doubled for the Gauchos only extra-base hit in Saturday’s win.

Newell – who is riding an eight game hit streak – has really picked up his play since the start of the Big West conference schedule, collecting hits in 21 of UCSB’s last 22 games to see his average rise from .237 to .302. The Roseburg, Ore. native has reached base in all but two of his 41 starts this season.

Cameron and the rest of the Gauchos will take on the UC Irvine Anteaters in a three game series this weekend. First pitch for Friday’s opener is set for 2:00 p.m.

Gauchos take down the Dirtbags

Video highlights from UCSB’s series win against Long Beach State.

Gauchos take series from Cal Poly

Highlights from UCSB’s series win over rival Cal Poly

UCSB athletics to host Gaucho Huddle at USD April 16

UCSB athletics and the Gaucho Fund have announced that they will be hosting a Gaucho Huddle when the baseball team travels to play at the University of San Diego on Tuesday, April 16th. With game time scheduled for 6pm, the pregame reception will begin at 4:30pm at Fowler Park on campus at USD. For $30 fans will receive a ticket to the game and access to the huddle, which will include food and refreshments, including assorted beer and wine. This is the chance for all UCSB baseball fans and alumni to meet and interact with other Gaucho faithful while supporting the team on the road.

If you are interested in attending this event or would like more information, please visit http://www.ucsbgauchos.com or contact Andy Graham, Assistant Director of the Gaucho Fund, at gauchofund@athletics.ucsb.edu.

Gauchos ready to face Mustangs

The Gaucho baseball team, winners of three out of their last four games, is getting ready to take on Cal Poly this weekend in a three game set that will count as a non-conference series. Games on Friday and Sunday will take place in San Luis Obispo, while Saturday’s game will be played at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium in Santa Barbara (2 pm first pitch).

Before heading into a break for finals this week, the CHOS began to find their groove. After knocking off 17th ranked Notre Dame in a mid-week contest on March 12, the Gauchos proceeded to take two out of three games from Sacramento State in a weekend series from March15-17. Their overall record now stands at 11-8.

Complete game recaps and a preview of this weekends series with the Mustangs can by found be visiting the baseball team page at http://www.ucsbgauchos.com/sports/m-basebl/index

Radio broadcasts of all three games this weekend can be found online at http://www.ucsbgauchos.com as Gerry Fall, the voice of the Gauchos, will be broadcasting live from both San Luis Obispo and Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.

Interested in joining the Gaucho 9, the driving force of Gaucho baseball? Visit http://www.gauchofund.com for details.

Gauchos on a roll, travel to Texas this weekend

After splitting a four game series with the University of San Francisco two weeks ago, the UCSB baseball team found its stride this past weekend. The Gauchos registered four wins in four days, including a three game sweep of San Jose State. After pounding Saint Mary’s 10-1 in a rare Monday match up, the “Chos” have seen their overall record climb to 8-4 on the year. It’s a great time for a hot streak, as the team travels to Austin, Texas, this weekend to take on the University of Texas in a three game set. It’s the first trip to Austin for UCSB since 1987, when the Gauchos took two out of the three games from the third ranked Longhorns. For complete game recaps from last weekend and information on the upcoming series at Texas, visit http://ucsbgauchos.com/sports/m-basebl/index.

Are you on twitter? Be sure to follow members of the UCSB baseball coaching staff for the inside scoop on everything happening with the team. You can also help assistant coach Jason Hawkins in his quest to get to 200 followers!

Head Coach Andrew Checketts: @Gauchos8 https://twitter.com/Gauchos8

Assistant Coach Jason Hawkins: @Gaucho29Hawk https://twitter.com/Gauchos8

Assistant Coach Eddie Cornejo: @CornejoEddie https://twitter.com/CornejoEddie

Assistant Coach Zach Etheredge: @ZachEtheredge https://twitter.com/ZachEtheredge

Also follow the twitter account for the entire program: @UCSB_Baseball https://twitter.com/UCSB_Baseball

 

Gauchos take opening series. Home opener rescheduled

After months of build-up and preparation, the 2013 UCSB baseball team finally got to take the field in a road trip to Fresno State this past weekend.  While Friday night’s game did not go exactly as planned, the Gauchos were in cruise control on Saturday and Sunday and ended up taking two out of three games in the series.

The weekend saw many different Gauchos step up, including a number of the freshman from the twelfth ranked recruiting class in the country. Sophomore Austin Pettibone tossed six innings of one run baseball Saturday, and the offense exploded for an eight run seventh inning on Sunday. Scores from the victories were 8-1 on Saturday and 11-3 on Sunday (the Gauchos fell 8-1 on Friday).

To read complete game recaps from the weekend, visit the baseball team page on the UCSB athletics website at http://www.ucsbgauchos.com/sports/m-basebl/index.

In other news, Tuesday’s home opener against UCLA has been rescheduled due to pending heavy rain in the forecast. The game will now take place next Tuesday, February 26, at 2 pm at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. UCSB’s home opener is now this Friday, February 22, as the Gauchos take on the University of San Francisco in a four game set. First pitch is scheduled for 2pm. There will be a double header Saturday with the first game starting at 12 pm and Sunday’s finale will start at 1 pm.  For tickets to games this weekend and the rest of the season visit http://www.ucsbgauchos.com. 

Season Preview with Coach Checketts

Second year head coach Andrew Checketts of UCSB baseball sits down with Larissa White to discuss the upcoming season.