Click to enlarge Cal Poly Falls to UCSB in 13 Innings, 5-4

Sunday, April 10

Santa Barbara, CA

4 pm

11-16, 3-3

UC Santa Barbara

14-12, 2-1

Cal Poly

UC Santa Barbara

Click to enlarge Cal Poly Falls to UCSB in 13 Innings, 5-4

4/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Beck Wheeler, UC Santa Barbara's No. 9 hitter who was 0-for-4 in the game, singled up the middle to drive in the winning run in the 13th inning as the Gauchos defeated Cal Poly 5-4 in a Big West Conference baseball game Sunday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.

The win gave the Gauchos the series, two games to one, and improved their record to 14-12 for the season and 2-1 in conference games. The visiting Mustangs fell to 11-16 and 3-3.

The Mustangs had a lead in each game of the series. Cal Poly let a 3-0 lead slip away Friday but came back for a 6-4 victory. The Mustangs also led Saturday 4-2 before the Gauchos scored five times in the late innings for the 7-4 win. And Cal Poly let an early 2-0 lead get away Sunday.

Joe Wallace, who hit a three-run home run Saturday to snap a 4-4 tie and give the Gauchos the win, opened the 13th inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Wheeler's single up the middle drove home Wallace with the winning run.

Nick Capito (2-2) pitched five innings in relief for the win, allowing no runs and three hits with no walks and five strikeouts. The loss went to Eugene Wright (0-2).

Mustang starter Chase Johnson allowed four runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings with three walks and four strikeouts, leaving the game with Cal Poly trailing 4-2. Joey Wagman pitched two scoreless innings and Jeff Johnson tossed 4 2/3 dramatic but scoreless innings, walking four (three intentionally) and striking out six.

UCSB produced a two-out double in the 10th inning and loaded the bases in both the 11th and 12th innings, but Johnson wriggled out of both jams with grounders to second baseman Denver Chavez.

Cal Poly's nine hits included three singles by first baseman J.J. Thompson, lifting his average to .329, and a single and double by shortstop Mike Miller, now hitting .378.

UCSB outhit Cal Poly 10-9, paced by Mark Haddow's two doubles and a single. Wallace added two hits.

Freshman third baseman Jimmy Allen doubled down the left-field line to drive in two runs and give Cal Poly a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

UCSB answered with an unearned run on two errors in the third frame and tallied three runs in the fourth for a 4-2 lead. Wallace singled in the first run in the fourth and Joe Winterburn followed with a two-run high-hop single over third baseman Evan Busby's head and down the left-field line.

Cal Poly, which had runners at first and second with no outs in the sixth inning but failed to score, tied the game in the eighth on an RBI single by Thompson and Busby's groundout.

UCSB loaded the bases with one out in the 11th inning, but with Allen playing as a fifth infielder, Winterburn struck out and Wheeler grounded out to end the threat. The Gauchos also loaded the bases with two outs in the 12th, but another grounder to Chavez quelled the rally.

Cal Poly plays a non-conference game Tuesday night at Santa Clara before returning home to host Cal State Northridge for a three-game Big West Conference series Friday through Sunday in Baggett Stadium.