Brethowr powers comeback as UCSB stays perfect at home

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Gaucho outfielders must like the UC Santa Barbara Baseball "SB Connect" jerseys, because for a second Tuesday home game in a row, one went yard twice. It was Ivan Brethowr's turn to play long ball on Tuesday night, hammering two monster home runs to power Santa Barbara past Loyola Marymount, 8-6, in comeback fashion. The big Kansan went 3-for-4 with a total of five RBI to help the Gauchos erase a 5-0 deficit, and Cole Tryba locked down the win with a four-inning save in which he allowed just one baserunner.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
On the team's performance: "It was a good win," Checketts said. "To be down five-nothing and come back, I was really hoping we wouldn't spot the other team a big lead early, but we did, so we're consistent if anything. Nice job for the guys to punch back and get back into that thing, and good swings by Ivan really helped. The quality relief out of those two freshmen, it was three freshmen that threw today, and the last two guys really threw the ball well, came up big for us."

On Cole Tryba's outing: "Nice bounce-back effort for Tryba, who had a couple rough ones," Checketts said. "We think he's good, he's going to be good, and in his defense, he has thrown it in there and just gotten beat with placement of some of the balls, so it's nice to see him get rewarded."

On AJ Krodel's first collegiate start: "He's got good stuff, he's got a good arm, but he's got to get over those freshman nerves, feel like he belongs and trust himself," Checketts said. "There might be more of that this year than we're accustomed to."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Krodel showed just how good his stuff can be in his first inning on the mound, dicing through the top of the LMU order by striking out the lead-off man before inducing a pair of groundouts, one of which came right back to him. But the nerves found their way to the rookie making his first ever start in inning number two, as Krodel surrendered a two-out single and then three straight walks to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. He exited after that but was charged with three more runs, as the next LMU batter launched a grand slam to right field, putting the visitors ahead, 5-0.

However, the Gaucho offense picked their young pitcher up and got two runs back in the bottom of the inning, playing some long ball of their own. Nick Oakley got aboard with a single and made his way over to third base on a wild pitch and an errant pick-off attempt, then Brethowr launched his first homer of the day to straightaway center field, cutting the home team's deficit to 5-2.

A lead-off triple would come around to score in the top of the third as LMU showed every intention of turning Tuesday night's game into a shootout, but Jackson Flora escaped the inning thanks to Brendan Durfee catching a Lion stealing. With his defense making plays and the offense finding its rhythm, Flora settled in and faced the minimum in both the fourth and fifth innings, erasing the one hit he allowed in a double play.

While Flora was keeping LMU from extending its lead, the Gaucho offense kept cutting into it. The first four Santa Barbara hitters reached to start the bottom of the third, with Jessada Brown's RBI double making it 6-3. Durfee came around to score as Justin Trimble reached on an error, then Zander Darby drove in Brown on a sacrifice fly, making it 6-5.

Brethowr blasted the first pitch of the fourth inning way out to left field to tie the game, and he gave Santa Barbara the lead when he came to bat again in the fifth. The big right fielder cracked a single into left with the bases loaded, scoring Darby and Oakley to put the Gauchos in front, 8-6.

Flora got into some trouble in the top of the sixth, but Tryba entered and made sure the score stayed where it was. The freshman lefty inherited runners on first and second and a 2-0 count with no outs when he entered the game and immediately induced a double play with his very first pitch. It took him two more pitches to end the inning, fielding his position well on a groundout.

Tryba then proceeded to shut down the LMU offense for the rest of the evening. He allowed just one hit, a two-out single in the seventh, which he promptly stranded at first. The lead-off hitter reached on an error to start the eighth, but Tryba worked around that as well, issuing one of his five strikeouts in the frame. In the ninth, he set the Lions down in order, punctuating the victory with two more K's.

FROM THE STUDENT-ATHLETES
Tryba on bouncing back from tough outings: "The past two outings didn't really go as I had planned, but I really had to focus on more of the process, rather than the results," Tryba said. "Sometimes I get caught up in all these numbers, giving up a ton of hits, but I focused on the process, which is filling (the strike zone) up."

Brethowr on his approach at the plate: "I've just been going back to hitting like it's BP, not overthinking anything," Brethowr said. "I'm very much an analytical person, so it works to my disadvantage sometimes, so I'm going back to being simple and trusting my abilities."

BY THE NUMBERS
Ivan Brethowr became the second Gaucho to hit multiple home runs in a game this season, following Jonah Sebring's two-homer game last Tuesday. Brethowr and Sebring now own the last four multi-homer games, having each gone yard twice in a game last May.
AJ Krodel became the 10th current Gaucho to start a game on the mound Tuesday night. Santa Barbara is 8-2 those pitchers' first-ever starts, though only four of them received a decision. Krodel was not one.
Jackson Flora finally earned his first win on the mound, pitching the middle 3 1/3 innings of Tuesday night's game.
Aaron Parker went 2-for-5 for his 12th multi-hit game in 18 appearances this season. He is not currently qualified for a batting title due to missing 10 games while injured, but his .434 batting average would rank 10th in Division I if he was.
Tuesday night's win was the Gauchos' seventh in which their opponents scored first. Santa Barbara had seven such wins all season in 2023, going 7-13 when conceding first last season. They are 7-6 when conceding first this season.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos continue this homestand with a three-game Big West series against Hawai'i, April 12-14. However, with rain in the forecast for Saturday, that schedule is subject to change.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)