LOS ANGELES, CA – UCSB Baseball fell to the Loyola Marymount Lions on the road Tuesday night by a score of 9-4, snapping their eight-game win streak.

In what started as a back-and-forth game in the early innings, the Lions wrestled control of the game by the middle innings and expanded their lead, while the Gauchos failed to muster a response.

“We did not feel ready to compete today,” UCSB head coach Andrew Checketts said. “And the game doesn’t reward you when you show up and think it’s going to be easy.”

UCSB immediately jumped on the scoreboard in the first inning. After Brendan Durfee drew a walk and advanced to third base on the back of Ivan Brethowr’s double, Durfee came around to score on Nick Oakley’s sacrifice fly into right field.

LMU went down quietly in the bottom of the first inning but tied the game at one in the second inning on Sam Biller’s leadoff home run.

The Gauchos quickly regained their lead in the top of the third inning. Aaron Parker came around to score on Durfee’s two-run home run into right field for a 3-1 Gaucho lead.

The Lions’ crooked number of four runs in the bottom of the third inning earned them their first lead of the night.

Reed Moring, UCSB’s starting pitcher, was removed for Cole Tryba after hitting consecutive LMU batters. Benny Casillas then singled into left field, driving in Brendan Bobo from second base and advancing Khadim Diaw to third base.

Casillas then stole second, and Parker’s errant throw from behind the plate allowed Diaw to trot home and tie the game at three.

After Tryba issued consecutive walks to Diego Baquiero and Andrew Grenert to load the bases, Robbie Ayers singled into left field to score both Casillas and Baquiero.

LMU ended the inning batting through the entire order and with a 5-3 lead, their first of the evening.

Jessada Brown immediately halved the Lions’ lead to 5-4, leading off the top of the fourth innings with a 433-foot home run over LMU’s “Blue Monster Wall” in left field.

From that point on, the Lions built on their lead and never looked back.

Christian Dicochea singled off Brady Huddleston to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning and came around to score on Diaw’s triple to the right-field corner. 

Diaw scored his second run of the night on a close play at the plate when Casillas bunted, extending LMU’s lead to 7-4.

The Lions tacked on two more runs against Ryan Troye in the fifth inning. Baquiero led off the bottom of the inning with a double down the left field line, and advanced to third base when Grenert grounded out to Jonathan Mendez at shortstop.

Baquiero then scored on a wild pitch past Parker behind the plate.

Ayers drew a walk shortly after, and quickly found himself on third base after a stolen base and another wild pitch. Devan Ornelas then sacrifice bunted Ayers home, growing LMU’s lead to 9-4.

Frank Camarillo and Matt Ager pitched the rest of the way for the Gauchos, throwing 3 ⅔ scoreless innings between the two of them.

LMU used seven different pitchers themselves, with the final five throwing a combined six scoreless innings. 

Austin Schroeder earned the win for the Lions out of the bullpen, while Tryba was charged with Tuesday’s loss.

The Gauchos return home to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium this weekend to host the Cal State Fullerton Titans in a three-game Big West Series. 

Checketts feels confident his team will be able to find its reset button for an important series.

“I think the scoreboard and how we played [tonight] is enough reset for them,” Checketts said. “I know it is for me.”