ONE HITTER HIGHLIGHTS BASEBALL'S DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP OF UC SANTA BARBARA
4/3/2010
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A mere infield single kept Hornet freshman Brandon Creel from a no-hitter in his first career start, as he combined for a one-hit shutout of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 3-0, in the first game of a doubleheader. The Hornets came back in game two to defeat the Gauchos by a score of 10-9 on Saturday, April 3 at Hornet Field.
With the victories, the Hornets improve to 10-15-1 on the season, while the Gauchos fall to 12-10 overall.
Making his first career start, Creel was unhittable in game number one, allowing a slow roller toward the third base bag in the fourth inning to Beck Wheeler account for the only hit of the game for UCSB.
The only run he needed came in the bottom of the second as sophomore Justin Lamb collected a RBI single, scoring senior Justin Mezzaneras, to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.
The advantage would grow to 3-0 in the fifth as junior Kirby Young provided a two-run single, scoring senior Josh Powers and freshman Blake Miller, giving Creel more than enough cushion.
The freshman, who had thrown just 10 innings on the season out of the bullpen, threw 91 pitches in eight innings, 64 of which were strikes. Creel (2-0) struck out five, did not allow a walk nor a runner to reach second base. The Gauchos had three baserunners in the contest, two of whom reached on Hornet errors. Junior Andrew Galvan threw a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up third save of the season.
Mario Hollands (2-2) pitched well for the Gauchos in a losing effort, allowing three runs on 11 hits while striking out seven in eight innings of work.
After the low scoring first game, game two saw an offensive explosion for both teams to open the game. After the Gauchos scored the first run of the game in the top of the first, the Hornets pushed four runs across the board, all of which came with two down. Young and junior Trevor Paine hit back-to-back singles, and junior Jake Chilton followed with a RBI single, scoring Young, to tie the score at 1-1. The next batter, Mezzaneras, hit a three-run homer to left field, giving the Hornets a 4-1 lead.
UC Santa Barbara fought back with four runs of their own in the top of the second to retake a 5-4 lead. Sean Williams connected on a RBI single, and Wheeler followed with a three-run homer of his own, giving the Gauchos a one run advantage. UCSB would score two more runs in the top of the third, taking a 7-4 lead before the Hornets fought back.
Sacramento State got a RBI groundout from Mezzaneras in the third to pull to within two runs before retaking the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Lamb started the scoring with a RBI single, and Powers followed with a two-run single to center to give the Hornets an 8-7 lead. Paine then closed out the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly RBI to right field, giving Sacramento State a 9-7 advantage.
The Gauchos were not to go quietly however, as Ryan Tregoning connected on a two-double down the left field line in the top of the seventh to tie the score at 9-9.
The winning run for Sacramento State would come in the bottom of the inning, as with one down freshman Andrew Ayers doubled off the left center field wall, and Miller brought him home with a RBI single to right, giving the Hornets a 10-9 lead.
UCSB had a chance in the bottom of the ninth, as with the tying run at third and the go-ahead run on first and two down, Galvan came out of the Hornet bullpen and forced Tregoning to fly out to center field to end the contest.
Junior James Chamberlin (3-2) picked up the win out of the Hornet pen, allowing three hits over 2.1 innings while striking out four. Galvan picked up his fourth save and second of the day by getting the final out. Junior Mike Guglielmo bridged the gap between the starter, senior Trevor York who allowed seven runs on eight hits in three innings, and Chamberlin, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out five in 3.1 innings.
Paine led the Hornets on the day with a 5-for-7 performance at the plate, which included a RBI and two runs scored. Lamb went 3-for-6 with a pair of RBI, while Powers was 4-for-9 with two doubles and two RBI. Mezzaneras drove in four, all in the second game, to lead the Hornets in RBI for the doubleheader.
Matt Valaika led the Gauchos on the day, going 3-for-7 with a double and a RBI. Three other UCSB players collected two hits apiece. Nick Loredo (0-2) picked up the loss out of the UC Santa Barbara bullpen, allowing one run on two hits in 1.2 innings.
Sacramento State returns to action as they host San Francisco State on Tuesday, April 6 at Hornet Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A mere infield single kept Hornet freshman 
