March 7, 2010
STANFORD, Calif.-- UC Santa Barbara (4-4) salvaged the final game of its three-game series at No. 24-ranked Stanford, defeating the Cardinal (7-4) 15-11 in a Sunday slugfest.
Tyler Gaffney went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and 3 RBIs, while Colin Walsh hit a three-run homer as part of an eight-run sixth inning, that cut the lead to 14-11.
A combined 12 runs were scored by both teams in the sixth. UCSB took a 14-3 lead after four runs a piece in the fifth and sixth innings, prior to eight runs by Stanford in the bottom of the inning paced by Walsh's homer and a catcher's interference that led to an additional three runs to make it 14-11.
It was the most combined runs at Sunken Diamond since Stanford beat Pacific 14-13 in 2009 and Stanford beat USC 26-5 in 2008. It was the most runs scored by a Stanford opponent since Santa Clara and UCLA each scored 16 at Sunken Diamond in 2007.
Cardinal starter Brett Mooneyham (0-2) could only manage one out in the first, giving up six runs on four hits, including a grand slam to Marty Mullens as UCSB took a 6-0 first inning lead.
UCSB Gaucho Nick Capito, who came in with a 1.23 ERA, gave up eight runs over the first 5.2 innings for the win, while Jesse Meaux picked up his first save after coming on in the eighth with the tying run in the on deck circle.
TheCardinal will now take time off for finals, next playing in a three-game series at home against Pepperdine March 19-21.