Baseball Drops Series Finale at UCSB, 6-5

Sunday, February 26

Santa Barbara, Calif.

3:00 p.m. CT

Tulane University

1-6

UC Santa Barbara

4-3

Tulane

UC Santa Barbara

Feb 26, 2017 | Baseball

Box Score

Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Attempting to salvage the final game of the series, the Tulane baseball team took an early lead Sunday afternoon and led 5-4 late, but UC Santa Barbara scored two runs in the ninth inning to win, 6-5, at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.

The Green Wave (1-6) led three times, including a 5-4 lead going into the bottom of the ninth after scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the inning. The Gauchos (4-3) loaded the bases and scored the tying and winning runs with consecutive singles.

"There were some better things today," Tulane head coach Travis Jewett said. "I thought the ball flights were better, we were less soft in the air, but still a lot of strikeouts today. Credit goes to them too. The players fought hard, but we just came up short. We just have to recollect and get ready for Wednesday."

Sophomore right fielder Grant Witherspoon, who went 3-for-5 Sunday and 8-for-13 for the weekend, reached on an error in the first inning and scored on a two-out single to center by senior left fielder Jarret DeHart. The Wave loaded the bases with two outs, but led 1-0 after the first. Senior third baseman Hunter Hope made it 2-0 when he led off the second inning with a long home run well over the fence in left center.

UCSB tied in the third inning on an infield single and throwing error at short that allowed a run to score, and a sacrifice fly that made it 2-2. The Green Wave, however, responded in the top of the fourth with two runs to retake the lead, 4-2.

Freshman shortstop Sal Gozzo singled just to the right of second base with two outs, and scored on Witherspoon's slicing double to deep center field. Williams then singled into right field, driving home Witherspoon. The Wave, which had seven two-out RBI in the first six games, tallied three on Sunday, and scored four of its five runs with two outs.

In the bottom of the fourth, a walk, single and sacrifice fly made it 4-3 with two outs and a runner at third, but the Tulane defense won an appeal that the runner left early tagging from second to third, and the inning ended with a one-run lead for the Wave.

The Gauchos scored the tying run in the sixth inning, making it a 4-4 game. Left fielder Colton Burns hit a pop up down the left field line that was not handled by the converging Gozzo or DeHart and went for a double. He then stole third and scored on a wild pitch.

Tulane, which had been unable to solve UCSB reliever Steven Ledesma for four innings, combined a break and a hustle play in the top of the ninth to retake the lead. Senior center fielder Lex Kaplan hit a high fly ball to the left field corner that popped off the glove of the left fielder in fair territory, and slid into third ahead of the throw with a triple. He then sprinted home on a passed ball to score the go ahead run, one pitch ahead of Witherspoon's ground ball single through the hole in the right side.

Sophomore Ross Massey allowed two unearned runs through 5.0 gritty innings in his start. Junior Ted Andrews (0-1) pitched the final 2.2 innings, and finished with the loss. UCSB's Alex Garcia (1-0), who recorded the final out in the eighth, earned the win. Joe Record allowed four runs in 4.0 innings, and Ledesma was hitless for 4.2 frames, until the ninth inning.

"A loss is a loss, but we do have to find the good in a game like this," Jewett said. "We just seem to find different ways to lose right now, so we just have to tighten the hole up, so we can play some winning baseball."

The Green Wave travels to Southern Miss Wednesday to close out the five-game road swing. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg.

Follow Green Wave Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter and Facebook.

UC Santa Barbara 6, Tulane 5 (Feb 26, 2017 at Santa Barbara, Calif)
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Tulane.............. 110 200 001 - 5 10 2 (1-6)
UC Santa Barbara.... 002 101 002 - 6 10 1 (4-3)
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Pitchers: Tulane - MASSEY, Ross; SOLESKY, Chase(6); ANDREWS, Ted(6) and MONTALBANO, Jeremy.
UC Santa Barbara - Record, Joe; Ledesma, Steven(5); Garcia, Alex(9) and Rowan, Thomas.
Win-Garcia, Alex(1-0) Loss-ANDREWS, Ted(0-1) T-3:07 A-490
HR TLN - HOPE, Hunter (2).
Weather: high 50s, clear, calm wind
Record, J faced 1 batter in the 5th.
T. ANDREWS faced 5 batters in the 9th.