Gauchos light up scoreboard in season opener at Campbell

BUIES CREEK, North Carolina. - After so much attention was paid to the No. 17 UC Santa Barbara Baseball team's pitching staff during the offseason, it was the hitters who stole the show on Opening Day, hitting three home runs to power a 20-8 win over Campbell on Friday. Aaron Parker and Nick Oakley combined to drive in half of those Gaucho runs with a team-high five RBI each on the night. On the mound, Calvin Proskey earned his first collegiate win after relieving starter Matt Ager.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
On the team's performance at the plate: "The guys swung the bats well, Coach Fonteno had them ready and had a good gameplan, they went out there and executed it," Checketts said. "I was really impressed with the plate discipline, guys did a good job with their swing decisions and they were able to do some damage when they got their swings off, facing a good arm."

On Aaron Parker's big night: "He's got experience in the middle of the order, he did a good job in those situations. The first swing, he swung at a ball that was face-high, he was a little geared down on that one but was able to settle in the rest of the at-bat, hits a homer and then gets the big RBI, he did a nice job. It's nice to have that presence in the lineup."

On Brendan Durfee hitting his first Gaucho home run: "He did a nice job hitting in the four-hole. You come to Division I Baseball and your first game doing it, you're hitting in the four-hole against a team that won 45 games last year. I thought he handled himself well, very mature, good at-bats, was aggressive and did a nice job having to come in in the middle of the game to catch."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, with Parker's three-run home run putting Santa Barbara ahead in the first inning. The junior catcher was back at it again in the second inning, roping a double down the left field line to drive in two more runs and make it 5-0 Gauchos. Cal Lutheran transfer Brendan Durfee got in the action shortly afterward, driving in Parker from second. He would replace Parker behind the dish before the night ended.

The Camels got a run off of Ager in the bottom half of the second, but the big righty's offense picked him back up with a big top of the third. Oakley drove in his first run of the night with a groundout, sparking a rally. LeTrey McCollum knocked an RBI single to right, then Zander Darby teed off with a two-run homer to right center for the Gauchos' 10th runs of the game.

Campbell again got runs back in the bottom half of the inning, hitting a two-run homer, and again Santa Barbara extended their lead the first chance they got. Durfee led off the top of the fourth with his first home run in Blue and Gold, then a walk-a-thon finished with Reiss Calvin earning his first Gaucho RBI via a bases loaded walk. Oakley promptly cleared the bases with a three-RBI opposite-field double into the left center field gap. The Santa Barbara native then stole third before scoring on a wild pitch to make it 16-3. Another wild pitch in the top of the fifth allowed Calvin to score and make it 17-3.

Ager's night on the mound was done after his four innings of work, and Proskey was summoned to replace him. Facing last year's top scoring team in Division I in his first collegiate appearance, Proskey worked his way into and back out of trouble, creating and then escaping from a bases loaded, no-outs jam. The rookie earned his first career strikeout, then induced a double play to end the inning.

The teams traded zeroes in their halves of the sixth inning, then Campbell flirted with a rally in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs. All three were driven in by hit batters or walks, and the Gauchos got all three runs back in the top of the eighth, also thanks in large part to free passes. Calvin walked with the bases loaded, then Oakely was hit by a pitch with the bags still full for his fifth RBI of the night. McCollum legged out an infield single to drive in run number 20.

More bases-loaded walks led to a pair more runs for the Camels in the bottom of the eighth, but that was the end of the scoring. Ryan Troye, younger brother of former Gaucho Chris Troye, made his debut and picked up his first Gaucho strikeout to end the eighth, then pitched a scoreless ninth.

ON THE SCORECARD
Every Gaucho who made a plate appearance in Friday night's game reached base at least once, and every player to record an at-bat also recorded at least one hit for Santa Barbara.
Parker (2-for-3) was one of four Gauchos with two hits on the night, alongside McCollum, Darby and Durfee.
On the mound, Ager allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits, four walks and three strikeouts in his four innings of work. Proskey got the win for his 2 1/3 innings of relief, in which he allowed three runs on three hits, two walks, two hit batters and two strikeouts.
Troye's three strikeouts matched Ager for the team high on Friday. Troye is now 78 away from matching his older brother Chris' K total (81) at UC Santa Barbara.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will look to secure the series win in game two against the Camels on Saturday, Feb. 17. First pitch from Jim Perry Stadium in Buies Creek is scheduled for 12 p.m. Pacific Time. Tyler Bremner is set to take the mound for Santa Barbara. The game will be streamed on FloSports, which requires a paid subscription to watch. An audio broadcast and live stats will be available for free through ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics)