Big West struggles continue for UCSB Baseball
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (16-8, 4-6 Big West) scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday, thanks to Xavier Esquer's first career grand slam, but were unable to chip into Long Beach State's (9-15, 3-7 Big West) lead any further, falling by a 9-6 scoreline.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded one-two-three first innings, but then a solo home run in the bottom of the second put the hosts on the board and began a streak of five consecutive innings scoring at least one run for Long Beach State.
The bottom of the third was particularly rough for the Gauchos, as a lead-off double turned into a run for the Dirtbags thanks to the first of three straight singles, with the third of those base hits also driving in a run to make it 3-0 in favor of the hosts. A throwing error on Long Beach State's double steal attempt did not help, letting in another run, and the second double of the inning made it 5-0 before the Gauchos could get out of the frame.
Santa Barbara did get a run back in the top of the fourth, Nate Vargas hitting his third home run of the season to start the inning. The Gauchos nearly kept Long Beach off the board in the bottom of the fourth, getting the lead-off batter out and picking a runner off at first for the second out. But, an eight-pitch at-bat ended in a walk to extend the inning, and a two-out double turned that into a run.
Long Beach added two more runs in the fifth, on a bases-loaded sacrifice bunt and a bases-loaded hit by pitch. The Gauchos scored in a similar fashion in the top of the sixth, a bases-loaded walk making the score 8-2, but the Dirtbags' second homer of the night in the bottom of the sixth made it 9-2.
After setting Long Beach down in order in the bottom of the seventh, Santa Barbara looked to finally have wrestled momentum onto their side in the top of the eighth, with Cole Kosciusko being hit by a pitch to lead off before both Reiss Calvin and Corey Nunez singled into left center to load the bases with nobody out. The Dirtbags summoned a new reliever from the bullpen, and Esquer greeted him by launching the first pitch over the left center field fence.
Frank Camarillo came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth, making his season debut, and kept Long Beach off the board again. He had to work around a lead-off double and a hit batter to do it, getting his first strikeout of the season on a full count, then inducing a double play.
The Gauchos got their lead-off man on base to start the top of the ninth, but they were unable to keep the rally going.
BY THE NUMBERS
Aside from picking up an RBI on his bases-loaded walk in the sixth, LeTrey McCollum also extended his hitting streak to 20 consecutive games on Friday. McCollum has been the Gauchos' best bat in conference play, hitting .463 through 10 Big West games.
Xavier Esquer's eighth-inning grand slam was the Gauchos' first of the season and his first as a collegiate player; the last Gaucho to hit a grand slam was Aaron Parker on April 16, 2024.
While Frank Camarillo made his season debut on Friday, the man he relieved, Raymond Olivas, had something of a career outing, allowing just one run on one hit (a home run) over a career-long 2 2/3 innings, striking out a career-best six Dirtbags.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will stay in Long Beach for two more games in this series, starting with a 6 p.m. contest on Saturday, March 29. Calvin Proskey, who has been Santa Barbara's best starter in conference series this season, will take the ball to oppose the Dirtbags' Jake Fields. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with a live audio broadcast and live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com.
(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).
