UCSB Baseball clinches series win with second straight victory at Oregon

EUGENE, Oregon. - The No. 24 UC Santa Barbara Baseball team only scored in two innings but hung crooked numbers in both to defeat the Oregon Ducks, 7-3, on Saturday and secure another series win at PK Park. Mike Gutierrez spun another gem on the mound, working his second quality start in as many weekends, while Zander Darby and Jonah Sebring both drove in multiple runs at the plate.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Gutierrez set the Ducks down in order in the first inning but got into trouble in the second, allowing a lead-off double; Oregon's first extra-base hit of the weekend. Gutierrez induced a pop-up on a sacrifice bunt attempt to get the first out of the frame, then a groundout got out number two, but a seeing-eye single would find its way through the left side of the Gaucho infield to get the home team on the board first. Gutierrez struck out the next batter looking to limit the damage, and he was back to business in the bottom of the third, working another one-two-three inning.

In the top of the fourth, the Gaucho offense mounted a massive two-out rally, capitalizing on every opportunity the Ducks gave them. Justin Trimble and LeTrey McCollum were both hit by pitches to get on base the hard way, then Corey Nunez worked a walk on full count to load the bases. Following Nunez's eight-pitch plate appearance, Nick Oakley worked an even more epic one, fouling off four straight pitches before ending his nine-pitch battle by being plunked to force the tying run home.

With the bases still full of Gauchos, Sebring laced a double deep to center field, scoring two runs to put Santa Barbara in front. Reiss Calvin walked to re-load the bags and force an Oregon pitching change, only for Darby to greet the reliever with a hard-hit single into left, scoring two more runs.

Gutierrez kept on flummoxing Oregon hitters, setting them down in order in the bottom of the fourth and allowing just a single in the fifth. The Ducks only got to him in the sixth by the narrowest of margins, leading off the inning on an infield single where Gutierrez only barely lost the race to first. That runner would come around to score after a double and a sacrifice fly, but Gutierrez got himself out of the inning with his fifth strikeout of the day, catching the batter looking on a full count.

Tyler Bremner relieved Gutierrez for the seventh inning and sent the Ducks down in order, but he did surrender a run in the eighth. A lead-off walk came around to score on a two-out single, though Sebring nearly threw him out at home. The Gaucho right fielder's throw beat the runner home, but catcher Brendan Durfee's tag was ruled late in a bang-bang play. Bremner picked up his second strikeout of the inning to strand two runners on base and end the threat.

Santa Barbara's offense picked a great time to have a big inning in the top of the ninth, bringing home two insurance runs in the frame. Calvin led it off with a four-pitch walk, then Darby knocked a first-pitch single to put runners on the corners. Jonathan Mendez pinch-ran for Darby and would eventually come around to score. First, Durfee drilled a double over the center fielder's head to bring home Calvin, then Jessada Brown legged out an infield single down the first base line, scoring Mendez from third. Santa Barbara still could have had more runs in the inning, leaving the bases loaded after a pair of fly balls stayed too shallow for runners to tag and score.

With a four-run lead, the Gauchos turned to freshman Jackson Flora in the bottom of the ninth, and while the tall righty had to work out of trouble, he got the job done. The first two batters reached, but a crucial double play turned the momentum back in Santa Barbara's favor. Two more walks loaded the bases, but Flora held his nerve and fired a three-pitch strikeout to end the game.

BY THE NUMBERS
Matt Ager is not the only Gaucho pitcher with an impressive track record at PK Park; Mike Gutierrez has now pitched 16 2/3 innings over three starts at Oregon, allowing just six earned runs in those three starts against the Ducks.
Zander Darby is also plenty comfortable in Eugene; he posted his second straight multi-hit game at PK Park on Saturday, the third of his career, going a game-best 3-for-5 at the plate.
Gaucho hitters have made Oregon's starters work hard in the first two games of this series; it took the Ducks 85 pitches to get through the first four innings on Saturday and 95 to get through the first five on Friday.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos have the opportunity to complete a second straight sweep of the Ducks on Sunday, March 3 at 12:05 p.m. Ryan Gallagher will take the mound at PK Park for the Gauchos, opposed by Kevin Seitter for Oregon. The game will be live on pac-12.com, with an audio broadcast and live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)