Gauchos pound Pepperdine 13-2

MALIBU, Calif. - The No. 20 UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (7-1) cracked eight extra-base hits, including three home runs, to with their 150th all-time meeting with Pepperdine (1-8) in Malibu on Tuesday afternoon, 13-2. Jack Holman finished a double shy of the cycle, Cole Kosciusko hit his first homer as a Gaucho, and Ian Fernandez smacked a pair of doubles as the trio finished with a team-high three RBIs each. Jonathan Mendez added a homer himself and Nate Vargas picked up another two RBIs. On the mound, Reed Moring dealt 5 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven to pick up the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Moring set the tone on the mound for the Gauchos, allowing just one baserunner in each of the first three innings and stranding them each time. He struck out two Waves in the bottom of the first and another one in the bottom of the second.

While Moring was able to continue working into the sixth, Pepperdine pulled their starter after just two innings, and Mendez greeted the new reliever loudly in the top of the third, launching a solo homer out to left center to put the Gauchos on top.

Moring worked around a one-out double in the bottom of the third to keep Santa Barbara ahead, then got himself out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fourth with his sixth strikeout of the day. The offense then gave their big righty some more runs to work with in the top of the fifth.

Xavier Esquer led off with a double, then took third on a failed pickoff attempt. Holman then hit a triple off the wall in right center to score Esquer. Vargas then scored Holman with a sacrifice fly. Moring returned and delivered a shutdown inning in the bottom of the fifth, setting the Waves down in order.

In the top of the sixth, the Gauchos broke the game open. A hit batter, a single and a walk loaded the bases for Holman with nobody out, and the powerful lefty almost hit a grand slam to the opposite field, having to settle for a long single that bounced out of the left fielder's glove thanks to a collision with the wall. That scored Corey Nunez from third and started a run parade. Vargas was up next and singled to move everybody up another 90 feet, then Kosciusko's first sac fly of the day made it 6-0. LeTrey McCollum walked to re-load the bases, then Fernandez cleared them with a double to the left centerfield wall, putting Santa Barbara up 9-0.

Moring got the first two outs of the sixth in order before his day was done, making way for Nathan Aceves, who got a strikeout and worked around a pair of baserunners to keep the Waves off the board. Holman's seventh-inning homer put the Gauchos into double digits, and Aceves worked a perfect bottom of the seventh to keep the score 10-0.

Santa Barbara increased that score to 12-0 in the top of the eighth, which Kosciusko led off with his first home run in Blue and Gold. McCollum scored the 12th run on a wild pitch later in the frame.

Aceves' day was done to start the eighth, and the Waves finally got on the board, getting to Hayden Hattenbach in his season debut. The lefty struck out the first batter he faced but walked the next two. Raymond Olivas replaced him but could not keep those two runners from scoring on a base hit and a fielder's choice before the inning was over.

After three walks loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, Kosciusko hit his second sac fly of the day to plate the game's final run, and Van Froling came in from the bullpen to pitch the bottom of the ninth. The freshman set the side down in order, punctuating the game with a backwards K.

BY THE NUMBERS
The Gauchos' eight extra-base hits on Tuesday are their most in a game so far in this young season. They achieved the feat four times in 2024, including back-to-back nine-extra-base-hit games against UC Riverside last May and an eight-double game at Cal Poly.
The Gauchos also set a season high with 10 walks on Tuesday, the most free passes they have received since Opening Day 2024, when they walked 19 times at Campbell.
Jack Holman continued to hit the cover off the ball on Tuesday, going 3-of-4 at the plate. Through eight games, he is hitting .516/.615/1.226 with six home runs and 12 RBIs. He is averaging a home run every 5.17 at-bats.
Reed Moring delivered one of the best performances of his career on the mound on Tuesday; the only time he has pitched more shutout innings in a game was March 5, 2023 against Xavier, and the only time he struck out more hitters in a game was Feb. 18 of this year against Saint Mary's.

UP NEXT
Santa Barbara returns home this weekend to host Fresno State in a three-game series, Friday Feb. 28 through Sunday, March 1. First pitch times are scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Friday, 3:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday. All three games will also be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics)