SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The USF baseball team lost both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at UC Santa Barbara's Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
 
GAME 1 – UCSB 6, USF 5
USF (0-3) took an early lead but was doomed by an eighth-inning rally by the Gauchos. The Dons held the lead until the bottom of the eighth when UCSB took advantage of consecutive hit-by-pitches by Scott Parker to start the inning. The Gauchos used a sac bunt to setup Ryan Clark for the go-ahead two-run single up the middle past a drawn-in infield that proved to be the difference.
 
Scott Parker (0-1) was saddled with the game-one loss in relief for the Dons, throwing 2.0 innings, allowing one hit with two runs and a strikeout. 
 
"The fact that they just kept playing and competing was the best part of both games today," said associate head coach Troy Nakamura. "Regardless of the score, they stayed on their approach. It was nice to see some guys get in there for the first time and have some quality at bats. There's definitely some very positive things to build on going into the game tomorrow."
 
Freshman left-hander Chase Gardner outdueled fellow freshman Noah Davis, only allowing one run over his first five innings, but ended up on the hook for four runs altogether after the Gauchos scored three in the bottom of the sixth. Gardner's collegiate debut ended with 5.2 innings of work where he allowed four runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out two.
 
"Chase did a great job of competing in the strike zone," added Nakamura. "He went with his stuff and he just attacked with it."
 
Harrison Bruce (2-for-4, 3 RBI), Nico Giarratano (2-for-5, RBI) and Aaron Ping (2-for-5, R) paced the offense in game one, while Dan James launched the first USF home run of the season in the top of the second.
 
Bruce stepped up with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the second and ripped a base-clearing double into the left field corner to put USF up 3-0 early.
 
The Gauchos (3-0) got on the board with Michael McAdoo's RBI double to right center in the bottom of the second.
 
In the next half inning, the Dons countered with a leadoff home run from James, who launched a breaking ball offering from UCSB's Noah Davis into the trees beyond the right center fence to put USF ahead 4-1.
 
Gardner worked out of jams with runners on first and second in the bottom of the third and fourth, getting ground outs on both occasions.
 
The Dons took advantage of a leadoff walk and used a little small ball to take a 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth when Kyle Norman laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Ryan Matranga, eventually setting up Giarratano's RBI infield single that plated Matranga.  
 
UCSB strung a few together in the bottom of the sixth when Billy Fredrick lined an RBI double into the right field corner to cut the USF lead to 5-2. Two batters later, Gardner's outing ended when Devon Gradford bounced a single up the middle that scored Fredrick. The Gauchos added one more run in the inning on an RBI single from Andrew Calica off USF reliever Riley Helland, ending the sixth with USF clinging to a 5-4 lead.
 
UCSB's Kyle Nelson (1-0) earned the win in relief, throwing 2.1 innings without allowing a hit or a run and striking out four while walking one.
   

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GAME 2 – UCSB 13, USF 5
In game two, the Gauchos went ahead early and never looked back, scoring 11 runs in the first four innings.
 
USF starter Benji Post (0-1) took the loss, going 2.0 innings in his debut, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits with a walk and a strikeout.
 
Game two saw Blake Valley continue his hot start to the year by going 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBI. Matt Sinatro (2-for-4, R) and Dan James (2-for-5) helped lead the offense.
 
The Gauchos got on top right away by taking advantage of a bases-loaded fielding error by second baseman Riley Helland that allowed two runs to score. UCSB followed that up with an RBI single to right that gave them a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
 
USF didn't waste any time in answering as Valley connected for a two-out, two-run double deep into the left center gap that brought home Dominic Miroglio and Beau Bozett.
 
Andrew Calica's ensuing two-run home run to right center in the bottom of the second put the Gauchos up 5-2.
 
It would stay that way until the Gauchos capitalized on two USF fielding errors in the bottom of the fourth to tack on another six runs. UCSB strung together run-scoring base hits from five of the next six hitters following a one-out error by shortstop Nico Giarratano before Jacob Alcorn came on in relief of Frank Waliczek and struck out Tevin Mitchell to end the rally.
 
The Dons started to chip away at the hefty lead with an RBI single to right by Giarratano that plated Sinatro, who led off the top of the fifth by smashing a triple deep into the right center gap. Two batters later, Manny Ramirez, Jr. drew a bases loaded walk that brought in a run to make it 11-4 in favor of UCSB.
 
UCSB added a run in the next half inning with a sacrifice fly, and picked up a solo home run off the netting in left from Kyle Plantier in the bottom of the seventh to move out ahead 13-4.
 
USF didn't let up, however, as Valley drove in his third run of the day with a line drive single to right field that scored Aaron Ping in the top of the eighth, but that would be as close as the Dons would get.
 
Trevor Bettencourt (1-0) picked up the win out of the bullpen for the Gauchos with 3.2 innings of work where he allowed one run (unearned) on two hits while striking out six and walking one.
 
 
NOTES: 3B Dan James notched the first USF home run of the year – and the first of his USF career - with a solo shot in the top of the third… after starting at 2B and going 2-for-4 at the plate on Friday, freshman Riley Helland pulled two-way duty when he came in relief of Chase Gardner in the sixth inning of game one, throwing 0.1 innings… the last time USF allowed 19 hits was May 19, 2014 versus Cal… OF Blake Valley has been hot this weekend going 4-for-7 (.571) with a triple and 4 RBI in the first three games of the series... RHP Mack Meyer threw 2.0 strong innings of relief in game two, allowing just one hit and striking out two in his season debut.  
 
UP NEXT: The Dons and Gauchos conclude their four-game series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch from Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.