Gauchos snap 6-game Big West losing streak as Proskey fires a gem

LONG BEACH, Calif.- Calvin Proskey delivered the best performance of his young career on Saturday night, pitching seven shutout innings to lead the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (17-8, 5-6 Big West) past Long Beach State (9-16, 3-8 Big West) in dominant fashion, the Gauchos coming away 9-0 winners. Santa Barbara's pitching staff — Proskey plus Donovann Jackson and Elliot Gallegos — allowed just four Dirtbags to reach base all night, while the Gaucho offense recorded 13 hits, one of them a Reiss Calvin home run. Jonathan Mendez went 4-for-5 at the plate and drove in a pair, while Cole Kosciusko tallied RBIs with both of his hits.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Proskey was in command all night long, retiring the first 10 hitters he faced, striking out three of them. By the time Long Beach had their first baserunner, Proskey was already working with a four-run lead, thanks to a big third inning.

Corey Nunez led off the top of the third with a double, and Jack Holman immediately drove him home with an RBI single. Xavier Esquer singled to make it three straight hits for the Gauchos, then LeTrey McCollum extended his hitting streak to 21 games with an RBI double off the top of the wall in left center, a couple feet shy of a homer. Mendez made it five straight hits with a single into right center, scoring both Esquer and McCollum to give Santa Barbara their 4-0 advantage.

Proskey made that lead stick easily, working around the one-out double he surrendered in the bottom of the fourth by striking out the next two Dirtbags who came to bat. He allowed a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth but again responded with a strikeout to end the inning, and that would be the last Long Beach batter to reach against him.

Calvin hit an opposite-field solo homer in the top of the sixth, and Proskey retired the Dirtbags in order in the bottom of the sixth, then again in the bottom of the seventh, finishing his outing with back-to-back punchouts. The Gauchos manufactured another run in the top of the eighth, with Mendez leading off with a single, then stealing second. He went to third on Nate Vargas' single, then scored on Kosciusko's RBI double to left, making the score 6-0 in favor of Santa Barbara.

Jackson took over on the mound for the bottom of the eighth and did allow a lead-off single, but then retired the next three batters to come up, finishing the frame with a pair of K's.

The Gauchos put up three more runs in the top of the ninth, loading the bases with no outs after a hit batter, walk and infield single. Vargas drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, then Jeremiah Crain reached on a Long Beach error, with McCollum coming home from third on the play. Kosciusko then delivered the ninth and final run of the night with a single through the right side of the infield.

Gallegos faced the minimum in the bottom of the ninth despite allowing a walk, with the Santa Barbara defense turning a game-ending double play behind him.

BY THE NUMBERS
The ninth-inning walk issued by Gallegos was the only free pass to first that Gaucho pitching gave out all night, their lowest free pass (walks and hit by pitches) total since Feb. 28, when they did not allow a single one against Fresno State.
The four total baserunners that the Gauchos allowed are the fewest against them since May 12, 2024, when they allowed four (all hits) against Cal State Bakersfield.
Santa Barbara's first three hits Saturday night were all doubles, and the Gauchos finished the game with five two-baggers, the most they have hit in a game since March 9, when they tallied six against CSUN.
Proskey's seven inning shutout outing was the longest of his career and his first shutout as a starter. While his eight strikeouts are one off of his career best, he did lower his season ERA to a sparkling 2.31 and his conference ERA down to just 2.19.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos and Dirtbags will play the rubber game of this three-game set on Sunday, March 30 at 1 p.m. from Blair Field in Long Beach. Santa Barbara is set to send AJ Krodel to the mound for his first start of the season, with Long Beach set to start Owen Geiss to oppose him. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with an audio-only broadcast and live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).