They say baseball is a game of inches.

In Friday’s case, it was a game of several feet. And yet even with the ball landing clearly to the left of the foul pole in the sixth inning, Owen Diodati was robbed of a dramatic game-tying home run, due to nothing more than an incorrect call by the umpires. Such is the game of baseball.

Oregon’s first loss of the season can’t be blamed on just that one play, but it certainly killed a potential momentum boost. Even if that ball had been called fair, it was a lackluster offensive performance for the Ducks. A UC Santa Barbara grand slam in the seventh inning put the icing on the cake, resulting in Oregon’s first loss of the year as they fell 6-2 to the Gauchos.

“They pitched better than us. They hit in the clutch better than us,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “That was the difference in the game today.” 

Jace Stoffal made his first start of the season after sitting out last week due to mild concerns over a leg discomfort he suffered in the weight room. He reportedly reached 94 miles per hour while building up strength over the offseason. On Friday, he sat between 89-93.

He looked dominant in the first inning, recording two strikeouts and a pop out. The Gauchos started making harder contact in the second, but even with the ball carrying in the cold and crisp Eugene air, they fell into Oregon mitts.

The Ducks missed out on a prime scoring chance in the first inning. Rikuu Nishida led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on an error. But Tanner Smith and Josiah Cromwick hit into some hard outs as the Ducks came up empty.

The second inning wasn’t any better, as Owen Diodati, Sabin Ceballos and Jacob Walsh all struck out. Gauchos starter Mike Gutierrez befuddled them with high-70s curveballs and changeups.

“He threw the ball over the plate, expanded the zone, kept us off balance,” Wasikowski said.

The balls started to land for UCSB in the third. The No. 8 hitter Jonah Sebring got the first hit, and leadoff hitter Zander Darby smoked one onto the right field shed for a two-run shot.

The Ducks nearly had something going in the bottom of the third, but Colby Shade’s baserunning snafu killed the rally. With Gavin Grant batting, Shade was initially caught stealing, but the call was moot because it was ball four to Grant. But Shade had a brain lapse and started heading back to the dugout, and the umpires didn’t call time, so UCSB picked Shade off. After a brief umpires meeting, Shade was officially called out.

“That’s a tough one, man,” Wasikowski said. “You got umpires with masks over their mouths, and Colby thought he heard that he was out, and so the umpire repeated it twice… My argument was: It was clearly a miscommunication. And why are we rewarding a miscommunication to somebody that already just walked the guy?”

Stoffal’s day ended after three innings and 36 pitches, easing him back into game action.

“It was good to get him back out,” Wasikowski said. “I think he was missing fat with some of his pitches, but a win for us today to get him back out on the mound and start building him back up with a couple weeks in front of conference play.”

Shade was quick to make up for his mistake, as he robbed a home run by leaping over the center field fence in the fourth inning. It helped Logan Mercado navigate through a scoreless frame.

The Ducks stranded two more runners in the bottom of the fourth, as Walsh struck out with runners on the corners. It was the third time in four innings they left a runner on third.

Mercado issued a couple walks in the fifth but recorded a strikeout to hold the deficit at 2-0.

Oregon finally got on the board thanks to some pesky baserunning from Nishida and a slump-busting hit by Drew Cowley. Nishida forced multiple throwovers and eventually stole second, and he raced home on Cowley’s opposite-field single.

Mercado’s control issues continued in the sixth with another pair of walks. But he induced a key 4-6-3 double play to get through his third unscathed inning of work.

In the bottom of the inning, Diodati appeared to tie the game with a blast to right field. He even went so far as to round the bases. But the first base umpire called it foul, and Oregon coaches Marcus Hinkle and Jack Marder ran out to argue. The umpires didn’t change their minds, despite video evidence showing it to be fair. 

Diodati ended up singling, and Ceballos walked. But Walsh hit into a double play to continue his tough game and leave a runner stranded.

The Gauchos smashed it open in the seventh. Mercado allowed a single and a walk, then permitted an intentional walk after a double steal. Ivan Brethowr smashed one to left field for a grand slam, with the umpires correctly calling it fair this time, which extended UCSB’s lead to 6-1.

The Ducks got one back in the eighth, aided by a couple UCSB errors. But the offense was otherwise underwhelming and couldn’t piece together a rally. Dylan McShane and Jacob Hughes each pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen.

Oregon ultimately fell 6-2 for its first loss of the year. 

The Ducks could still win the series with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.