Gauchos lose series opener to UC Irvine as bats remain quiet for UCSB

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The No. 21 UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (15-5, 4-3 Big West) got another quality start on the mound from ace Tyler Bremner in Friday's series opener against UC Irvine (15-5, 6-1 Big West), but their offensive frustrations from last weekend continued and the game got away from them late. The Anteaters won, 10-0, scoring seven of their 10 runs after Bremner left the game.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
"Give credit to Irvine, they did a good job, their guys did a good job of executing their gameplan," Checketts said. "They're a really good offensive team, and we gave them too much on the mound, too many freebies. Brem (Tyler Bremner) made the one mistake on the guy but beside that I thought was solid. After that, it went pretty downhill."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Bremner was solid to start, playing his part in what was a pitchers' duel through the first four innings. Bremner worked around a pair of singles in the first, racking up a pair of strikeouts, then stranded a lead-off walk on first in the top of the second. He left another lead-off runner stuck on first base in the top of the third thanks to a flyout, popout and groundout. He then set the Anteaters down in order in the top of the fourth, punctuating the inning with his fourth strikeout of the day.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Gaucho offense mounted something of a two-out rally, threatening to score the first run of the game. After Nate Vargas singled and LeTrey McCollum worked a four-pitch walk, Cole Kosciusko cracked a line drive toward the left-center field gap, but Irvine's center fielder was able to track it down.

The first blow was struck in the next inning as the Anteaters put together a two-out rally of their own. After another leadoff batter reached base, Bremner got the next two Anteaters out and was one strike away from ending the inning when Irvine hit a two-run home run to take the lead. A walk and two singles plated a third run of the inning before Bremner recorded his fifth strikeout of the day to end the inning. He racked up two more punchouts in the top of the sixth, his final inning of the day.

The Gauchos threatened to score in both the fifth and sixth innings; Ian Fernandez knocked a one-out double down the left field line in the fifth and reached third before the inning ended. In the sixth, Jonathan Mendez and McCollum each singled to put runners on first and second with two outs, but they stayed there.

Bremner's day on the mound was done to start the top of the seventh, and after his exit things did, as Checketts said, go "pretty downhill." Irvine scored two runs in the seventh on a walk, two doubles and a single, though McCollum did make a great throw from center to cut down a potential third run at home on that final single. The Anteaters scored two more runs in the eighth on a single, double, walk and single, then added three runs in the ninth on a walk, wild pitch, walk, two singles and a fielder's choice groundout.

BY THE NUMBERS
With seven strikeouts on Friday, Bremner moved into fifth place on UC Santa Barbara's career strikeout list with now 217 to his name. Next for him to catch is Mike Gutierrez, who sits in fourth with 229.
Friday's defeat was the Gauchos' third straight, the first time since February of 2024 that Santa Barbara has dropped three in a row. It is also the first time since April 5, 2024 that they lost a Friday game. That game was at UC Irvine.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will look to put Friday behind them quickly and get ready for game two against the Anteaters on Saturday, March 22 at 3:05 p.m. from Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. Santa Barbara is scheduled to start Jackson Flora on the mound, and fans can receive a free Jackson Flora trading card at the game. Tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets, and kids in sixth grade or below get in free to all Gaucho home games this season with the Yardi Youth Pass. Visit ucsbgauchos.com to learn more. For fans following from afar, the game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics).