Gauchos hold off San Diego State with two 9th inning runs

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The No. 21 UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (5-1) came out on the right side of late-inning drama at San Diego State (3-4) on Saturday night, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth to defeat the Aztecs, 7-5. Rowan Kelly plated the game-winning run with his first collegiate hit — an RBI infield single. Nic Peterson got the win in relief, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless, high-leverage innings. Before a hectic final two frames, Nate Vargas had powered the Gaucho offense with a home run, a double and three RBIs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
With stud sophomore right-hander Jackson Flora on the mound to start, it was pretty much all Gauchos early on Saturday night. Flora turned in a quality start, working six scoreless innings, scattering two hits and two walks while striking out six Aztecs. His outing included three perfect innings, plus he picked off a runner, erasing a lead-off walk in the bottom of the fifth.

At the plate, the Gauchos struck first. After leaving the bases loaded in the top of the second, Vargas' solo home run in the top of the third got Santa Barbara on the board. With the way Flora was pitching, it looked like that might have been enough, especially after the sophomore struck out two Aztecs in a one-two-three inning immediately after the Gauchos took the lead. However, Santa Barbara did pick up some insurance in the top of the fifth. Jack Holman worked a full-count walk, with one out, and he would come around to score on Cole Kosciusko's RBI single into right center.

The offense really broke things open in the top of the sixth, an inning which freshman Ian Fernandez led off by roping his first collegiate hit, a double, down into the left field corner. After Corey Nunez was hit by a pitch and Holman legged out a two-out infield single, Fernandez scampered home on a wild pitch, making it 3-0 Gauchos. Vargas was at the plate for that wild pitch, and he ended his at-bat by launching a double to deep right center field, clearing the rest of the bases and making Santa Barbara's lead 5-0.

AJ Krodel relieved Flora in the seventh inning, working around a lead off hit batter for a scoreless frame. The bottom of the eighth was far more chaotic. Krodel walked the first two batters but responded with a K for the first out. Right after that though, a wild pitch and another walk loaded the bases. Cole Tryba was summoned from the bullpen but hit the first batter he faced to push across the first Aztec run, then back-to-back singles scored three more. Another walk re-loaded the bases, but Tryba responded with a strikeout. The K would not turn the momentum back in the Gauchos favor though, as another hit Aztec pushed across the tying run. Peterson took over and induced a flyout to end the inning.

Having watched their lead evaporate, the Gauchos needed a response from their hitters, and that is exactly what they got in the top of the ninth. Vargas and Kosciusko worked one-out walks, and LeTrey McCollum hustled down the line for an infield single to load the bases. Kelly, who had entered as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the fifth, tapped an infield single at the shortstop to put the Gauchos back on top. Fernandez then gave Santa Barbara some insurance the hard way, being hit by a pitch to push home another run and make it 7-5 Gauchos.

Peterson returned to the mound for the ninth and walked the first batter, but he came back and induced a perfect double-play ball that Nunez, Jonathan Mendez and Holman turned into two outs to clear the bases. Peterson then finished off the game with a strikeout.

BY THE NUMBERS
Vargas, playing as the Gauchos' designated hitter after five straight games catching, turned in the best game of his young Santa Barbara career on Saturday, going 2-for-3 with both hits going for extra bases and both hits driving in runs.
Fernandez and Kelly each recorded their first collegiate hits on Saturday night; Fernandez finished 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in his Gaucho debut, while Kelly ended the night 1-for-2 with an RBI as well.
On the mound, Flora continued his strong start to 2025 with his six shutout innings. The sophomore is still yet to allow a run and has struck out 12 hitters while walking just two through 11 innings. His WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is now down to just 0.64.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will conclude the Tony Gwynn Legacy weekend with a game against California Baptist on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 12 noon from San Diego State's Tony Gwynn Stadium. Sophomore right-hander Calvin Proskey is scheduled to start for Santa Barbara, while sophomore lefty Cody New is set to go for the Lancers. Sunday will be the first of three meetings between the Gauchos and CBU this season. An audio broadcast of the game will be available at ucsbgauchos.com/BSBRadio while live stats can be found at ucsbgauchos.com/BSBLiveStats.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics).