BAKERSFIELD, Calif.— UC Santa Barbara starting pitcher Kyle Hatton retired the final 13 CSUB batters in a row that he faced as the No. 17 Gauchos defeated CSU Bakersfield 10-4 Tuesday night.

Hatton, a freshman left hander making his first collegiate start, allowed one hit through the first six innings. He faced the minimum as the lone CSUB hit he allowed, a Sergio Robles single in the second, was erased by a double play. Hatton needed only 58 pitches (43 for strikes) before giving way to Kenny Chapman in the seventh. Chapman pitched two innings before Grant Dragmire came on in the ninth. The three UCSB pitchers allowed six hits.

Three straight hits for the Gauchos (16-3) with two outs in the top of the second led to a Devon Gradford double that drove in a pair of runs. UC Santa Barbara added to the in the third when an Austin Bush ground out plated a run.  The Gauchos scored one more in the top of the fourth when Gradford singled for his third RBI of the game.  

Gradford drove in his fourth run with an infield single in the sixth as UCSB tallied two more in the inning. UC Santa Barbara would take advantage of two CSUB errors in the seventh to score four runs.

CSUB's Dustin Frailey reached on an error to begin the seventh, but the Gauchos' second double play of the night took the runner off the board. The Roadrunners got on the board in the bottom of the eighth on a Ryan Grotjohn sacrifice fly which allowed Nick Vehlewald to score.

A Grotjohn single in the bottom of the ninth drove in Matthew Franco. Cody White registered a two-RBI double later in the ninth. Drew Seelman came up with the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth. Seelman would work the count to 3-2 before Dragmire struck Seelman to end the game.

In addition to his four RBI's, Gradford posted three hits. Josh Adams was 3-for-3 with four runs scored and an RBI. Dempsey Grover and Clay Fisher both recorded two hits for the Gauchos.

“I like the way the game finished,” said CSUB head coach Bob Macaluso. “There weren't a lot of positives at the start of the game. I hope we can turn it around in a hurry as we start conference play Thursday at Seattle.”

The Roadrunners (5-15) open Western Athletic Conference play Thursday when CSUB begins a three-game series at Seattle University. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. The Roadrunners return home Apr.  1 when CSUB hosts Grand Canyon in a WAC series. Tickets are available through the CSUB Ticket Office at (661) 654-BLUE or tickets@csub.edu, or online at Vallitix.com.

~www.GoRunners.com~