March 3, 2018
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Early runs were not enough as UC Santa Barbara defeated Penn State, 10-4, in non-conference baseball action Saturday afternoon in Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
Hits were even at 12 apiece, but Penn State (3-4) yielded five unearned runs on five errors, and yielded five walks and two hit batsmen to just two walks allowed by UCSB (3-6). For the Nittany Lions, right fielder Jordan Bowersox (Winter Springs, Fla.) went 3-for-5 with a run and RBI, first baseman Shea Sbranti (Oakley, Calif.) went 2-for-4 with a walk and catcher Ryan Sloniger (Punxsutawney, Pa.) slugged a two-run home run. For UCSB, first baseman Drew Williams reached in all five plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a home run, right fielder Armani Smith went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and designated hitter Clay Fisher went 2-for-4 with three runs and a RBI.
UCSB was first on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning when an infield pop fly landed with two outs, allowing the runner to score from second. However, Penn State answered with a two-run home run by Slongier in the top of the second, as left fielder Braxton Giavedoni (Punxsutawney, Pa.) led the inning off with an infield single to third, and Sloniger followed by crushing a no-doubter into a parking lot beyond right field.
The Lions added to their lead in the top of the third on an RBI-single by designated hitter Connor Klemann (Royersford, Pa.) Bowersox blooped a one-out single over the shortstop and moved into scoring position on a Sbranti walk, allowing him to score easily on Klemann's base hit to center.
UCSB rallied though to tie the game at 3-3 with a run each in the third and fourth. A leadoff double by Fisher followed by a base hit by Smith brought the Gauchos back within one in the third, and then Williams had a solo home run carry over the right field fence in the fourth to tie it.
Penn State threatened to go back ahead in the fifth, loading the bases with base hits from shortstop Tommy Gibson (Williamstown, N.J.) and Bowersox and a two-out walk by Klemann, but the Gauchos turned to their bullpen, and RHP Alex Patterson (1-1) got an inning-ending strikeout to keep the game deadlocked.
Patterson earned the win, striking out four over two innings and allowing just two hits. He relieved LHP Jack Dashwood, who started for UCSB and worked 4 2/3 innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
UCSB retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth, as a two-out walk proved costly. Centerfielder Tommy Jew followed the walk with a double to left that was just out of the reach of Giavedoni, allowing it to go to the wall and score the run.
RHP Justin Hagenman (1-1) (Voorhees, N.J.) pitched five innings for Penn State, allowing four runs (three earned), on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts, and gave way to LHP Marko Boricich (Chicago, Ill.) in the sixth, but UCSB extended its lead to 6-3 on a pair of run-scoring doubles. A lead-off walk again proved costly, as a one-out grounder to third by Fisher turned into an RBI-double when it took a bad hop and rolled into left field. Boricich got a strikeout for the second out, but catcher Eric Yang followed with a double down the third-base line to score Fisher before the inning ended.
UCSB then put the game out of reach with four runs in the seventh on three hits and three errors.
Bowersox drove in a run in the bottom of the ninth for the final margin.
Penn State and UC Santa Barbara continue the series Sunday and Monday, with both starting games at 5 p.m.
Penn State's home opener is set for Wednesday, March 14. Season, flex and single-game tickets for the 2018 season, presented by Family Clothesline, are available online at GoPSUsports.com or by calling the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ticket office at 814-272-1711.
Notes: The home run was Sloniger's second of the season and fourth of his career, setting a new single-season career high. Sloniger hit one home run in each of his first two seasons ... Parker Hendershot pinch-hit and reached on an infield single in the ninth to improve to 3-for-3 for his career.