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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 10:23 a.m., Saturday, February 28, 2009

UC Santa Barbara rolls past baseball Rainbows, 10-4

Advertiser Staff

Matt Valaika drove in three runs to support the strong pitching of Joe Gardner and UC Santa Barbara hammered Hawai'i, 10-4, today in the Dairy Queen Classic in the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Gardner (1-0) allowed three runs, three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings for the Gauchos (4-2).

The Gauchos jumped on UH starter Matt Sisto (1-1) early and often. He gave up five runs in three innings for the Rainbows (3-4), who had a three-game win streak snapped.

Valaika was 3 for 5 with a double.

With one out in the first, Ryan Cavan singled and took third on Eric Oliver's double. After Sisto struck out Shane Carlson, Valaika's parachute single to center scored both runners to give UCSB a 2-0 lead.

The Gauchos continued their assault in the second. Mark Haddow singled with one out, stole second and scored on Brian Gump's triple. Gump scored on Cavan's sacrifice fly to center to make it 4-0.

Sisto appeared to be getting back in his groove when he struck out the first two batters in the third inning, but he hit John DeAlba, who then scored on Robby Cummings' double to make it 5-0.

Hawai'i got on the board in the fourth on a one-out solo home run to left by Vinnie Catricala to pull UH to 5-1.

The Gauchos added two more in the fifth on a Marty Mullins' sacrifice fly and RBI single by Haddow, making it 7-1.

The Rainbows scored again in the sixth. Ryan Morford led off with a double, took third when Kolten Wong grounded out to short and scored when Greg Garcia also grounded out to short to make it 7-2.

The Gaucho got an unearned run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Gump that made it 8-2.

The Rainbows added two in the eighth on an RBI double by Wong and RBI single by pinch hitter Josh Chevalier to pull to 8-4.

UCSB got two more in the eighth on an RBI double by Valaika and an error to increase its lead to 10-4.