March 2, 2010

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU (1-7) missed opportunities both offensively and defensively en route to dropping a 4-1 decision to UC Santa Barbara (3-2) on Tuesday at Page Stadium.

The Lions received a strong pitching performance from starter Alex Gillingham in the game, but Gillingham did take the loss after tossing seven innings and allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out two. The native of Thousand Oaks, Calif. utilized 103 pitches.

LMU, which managed just four hits in the loss, received hits from Jonathan Johnson, Matt Koch, Matt Lowenstein and Joel Licon. Johnson collected the only extra-base hit for LMU, his first triple of the season. The triple was his eighth of his career, and he now needs just one more to enter the LMU top-10 in that category. With the hits, Johnson has now hit safely in seven straight games, while Koch and Lowenstein have each hit safely in three. Junior Jason Barmasse had his seven-game hitting streak snapped after finishing 0-for-3 with a walk. He had hit safely in each of the first seven games of the season, including a pair of hits in each of his last five, before going hitless on Tuesday.

Jesse Meaux was impressive in the start for Santa Barbara, tossing seven innings, allowing just the four hits and a walk while striking out two. He needed just 80 pitches to get through the seven frames en route to his second win of the season. Meaux retired 11 straight hitters from the third inning to the end of the sixth.

Marty Mullins had a breakout day at the plate after entering the game batting just .100. Mullins, who played at LMU as a freshman, finished 3-for-4 as the only Gaucho with multiple hits. Matt Valaika recorded a pair of RBI after finishing 1-for-4 with a walk. Mark Haddow and Ryan Palermo contributed the other two RBI for UCSB, with Haddow belting his second home run of the season in the eighth.

UCSB got on the board first with a run in both the first and second innings. The Gauchos played a bit of situational baseball in the first, beginning with a seven-pitch at bat that resulted in a double off the bat of their leadoff hitter Gunnar Terhune. UCSB followed by grounding a pair of balls to shortstop to plate the run as the Lions traded outs for bases.

The Gauchos received another leadoff hit in the second, benefiting from a Trevor Whyte single through the left side. The Lions nearly erased the baserunner on the ensuing play as Shane Arslan hit a hard ground ball to shortstop that looked like a tailor-made double play ball. Instead, Licon bobbled the ball slightly as LMU managed to get only the lead runner. Mullins contributed a single on a hit-and-run to push the runners to the corners on the very next play, setting the table for a Ryan Palermo RBI-single through the left side.

LMU threatened in the third as Johnson punched his first triple of the year down the right field line with one out. With the top-two Lion hitters scheduled to come to the plate with one out and a runner at third, LMU looked in prime position to at least cut the deficit to one. Unfortunately for the Lions, Barmasse dribbled a ball up the third base line for the second out. Koch followed with a line drive to centerfield, but UCSB had the outfielders played perfectly, as Terhune was there to put the ball away and strand the runner.

The Gauchos scraped for another run in the fifth, extending the lead to 3-0. Lance Roenicke reached with a hit-by-pitch before moving to third on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout to the pitcher. LMU once again nearly escaped danger in the frame as Roe made a diving stop at third on a one-hopper off the bat of Valaika on the ensuing play. The native of Palmdale, Calif. got to his feet, but delivered a low throw that could not be picked out of the dirt by Sean McIntyre at first base, allowing the run to score.

After freshman Aaron Griffin relieved Gillingham, Haddow took it upon himself to extend the Gaucho lead to 4-0 in the eighth, lining his second home run of the season to the deepest part of the ballpark in centerfield.

LMU got on the board in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Kevin Gelinas, but the potential was much greater than the one run. The left-hander entered and promptly walked the ninth, first and second hitters in the Lion order on 14 pitches, including a pair of four-pitch free passes, to bring up the heart of the order. Gelinas got tough from there, inducing a double play ball from Koch and trading a run for two outs. He wiggled completely out of the jam on the ensuing play, striking out Lowenstein to strand the runner at third.

LMU returns to action on Friday when it travels to Minneapolis, Minn. for the Dairy Queen Classic. The Lions will face host Minnesota on Friday at 4:35 p.m.