Darby homers in 3rd straight game but Gauchos lose season-opening series at Campbell

BUIES CREEK, North Carolina, - UC Santa Barbara Baseball's Zander Darby continued his strong weekend at the plate on Sunday, mashing his third home run in as many games for the Gauchos. His third-inning solo shot helped Santa Barbara take an early lead, but the hosting Campbell Camels came back to win, 7-3, and take the series. Jonah Sebring and Corey Nunez also drove in runs for the Gauchos.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Mike Gutierrez looked well on his way to making the strongest start of the weekend on the mound for Santa Barbara, allowing just one baserunner through the first three innings while striking out four Camels. He got support from his offense too, with the Gauchos plating runs in the second, third and fourth frames.

Brendan Durfee continued his impressive start to the season with a single and a stolen base in the second inning to get himself in scoring position. Sebring singled into center to plate Durfee and put the Gauchos on top. In the top of the third, Darby continued his power surge with a home run out to right center, doubling Santa Barbara's advantage. Reiss Calvin then showed off his wheels in the top of the fourth, racing all the way around to third after his long fly ball bounced off the Campbell right fielder's glove. Nunez knocked a two-out single into right field to bring Calvin home.

But Campbell fought back in the bottom of the fourth, tying the game with three runs in the frame. A lead-off walk was followed up by a single, then some unfortunate errors. The Gauchos nearly turned a double play on a hard-hit ball right to first, but Nunez couldn't corral the throw at second base, and worse still, was called for interference. Instead of two outs, the play resulted in a run for Campbell and a Camel on third. That runner immediately scored on another groundout, which would have instead ended the inning without the previous error. Things only continued to go wrong for the Gauchos, as after a two-out single, Gutierrez had the runner picked off at first, but again a bad throw bailed out the Camels, allowing that runner to reach second safely. He would come home to score the tying run on a double.

From there, the momentum was completely flipped, in favor of the home team. Reed Moring came in to pitch the fifth inning but could not cool the Campbell bats, as they scored three more runs in the frame thanks to a solo homer and a two-RBI single. The Gaucho offense had a chance to rally in the sixth, putting runners on the corners with nobody out, but a strikeout and some good defense to cut down the lead runner at home put an end to that. The Gauchos would go down in order in each of their final three innings, and Campbell added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh with another solo homer to secure the result.

ON THE SCORECARD
There were walks aplenty in Buies Creek this weekend; the 26 walks earned by Gaucho hitters are the most in a three-game series since they drew 27 over three games against Tulane in 2017.
The 31 walks issued by Gaucho pitchers over the weekend are the most in any three-game series under Head Coach Andrew Checketts. The last time Santa Barbara gave up 30 or more walks was in a four-game series against Oregon in 2021.
Calvin leads the Gauchos in walks with five, giving him the second-highest (eligible) on-base percentage on the squad despite still looking for his first hit in Blue and Gold. His fourth-inning three-bagger on Sunday was ruled an error.
Durfee is the only qualified Gaucho hitter with a better OBP than Calvin's at .533. The Cal Lutheran transfer also leads the team with a .417 average after the first weekend.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Darby is the team's leader in slugging percentage (1.000). It will also come as no surprise that he leads the squad in RBI (5) and home runs (3).
Moring took the loss on Sunday after giving up four runs in his three innings of work. He did strike out five Camels, giving him the team lead in K's. His K/9 of 15 is second on the team behind Ryan Troye (20.25).
UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara is scheduled to visit Pepperdine on Tuesday, Feb. 20, but both teams will be keeping an eye on the weather as rain is forecast to hit Southern California. First pitch is currently set for 1:30 p.m. from Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu. The game will be live on ESPN+, and an audio broadcast and live stats will both be available through ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)