Long Beach State Dirtbags drop Big West series to UCSB

LONG BEACH >> Two plays at the plate in the seventh iing told the story on Saturday at Blair Field. With the score tied, No. 18 UC Santa Barbara scored on its play at the plate in the top half, and the No. 17 Long Beach State Dirtbags did not duplicate it in the bottom half. That gave the visiting Gauchos (20-5, 2-0 Big West) the breathing room they needed to win 3-1 and clinch the Big West Conference-opening series.

This is the first series loss for Long Beach State (16-10, 0-2) and the Dirtbags have now dropped a season-high three straight games and five of their last seven. It was also the first loss on Saturday this season.

“I feel like they’ve come here playing freely and we’re stuck in neutral,” Long Beach State coach Troy Buckley said of his team that has produced only four runs on 17 hits in the two games of this series. “Our approach has been awkward and inconsistent. They hit our mistakes, we’re not doing that.”

Dirtbag starter Darren McCaughan (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season in 6 2/3 iings. He allowed two eaed runs after giving up five hits and striking out a season-high seven. Counterpart Noah Davis (3-0) stayed perfect for UCSB with eight iings, during which he scattered seven hits.

For the second straight day, All-American shortstop Garrett Hampson gave the Dirtbags a lead in the first iing. The junior launched the second pitch he saw over the left field fence for his second collegiate home run, his first at Blair Field.

McCaughan got himself into trouble by putting the leadoff man on base in each iing from the second to the fifth. UCSB broke through in the fourth iing to tie the game, 1-1. McCaughan hit designated hitter Dempsey Grover and he moved to third with no outs when Austin Bush doubled. Second baseman JJ Muno plated Grover with a single, but McCaughan left the bases loaded thanks to a foul out and a strikeout.

UCSB catcher Thomas Rowan led off the top half of the seventh iing with a double and advanced to third base on a wild-pitch strikeout. With one out and ruers on the coers, left fielder Billy Fredrick battled through a nine-pitch at-bat to plate Rowan with a sacrifice fly.

The Dirtbags put a ruer on base in five of the first six iings. Second baseman Jarren Duran was stranded at third base after leading off the sixth iing with a clean single. Catcher David Banuelos was thrown out at home in the seventh iing on a single by pinch-hitter Garrett Nelson after a two-out double. Hampson was left on deck.

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The Gauchos tacked on an insurance run in the eighth iing when Muno added his second RBI with a single to score Bush.

This series concludes at 1 p.m. today back at Blair Field. Right-hander Taer Brown (3-1, 3.74 ERA) takes the ball for the Dirtbags.