Gauchos win Big West series against UC Davis

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (20-10, 7-8 Big West) was firing on all cylinders Sunday, getting a quality start on the mound and putting up crooked numbers in three different innings for an 8-2 win over UC Davis (14-15, 4-8 Big West), taking the series from the Aggies. Jackson Flora allowed just one unearned run over seven innings of work, striking out five in his return to the starting rotation, while the Santa Barbara offense dealt death by a thousand cuts, scoring eight runs on 14 hits, all singles. Xavier Esquer, LeTrey McCollum, Cole Kosciusko, Liam Barrett, Rowan Kelly and Corey Nunez all had multi-hit games, with Esquer tallying four RBIs on the day.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
"We got a really good start out of Jackson Flora, he was outstanding for us today," Checketts said. "I thought that set the tone, you know, pitching through the seventh there. I thought we did enough offensively, we had some opportunities early and just kept at it, kept at it, kept at it and some guys had some nice games. Rowan Kelly, freshman for us, had a really good weekend, made that fantastic play late in the game that I think turned the momentum around. All in all, a good effort, especially after losing Friday, to come back and win the next two days and win the series was a nice response by the guys.

HOW IT HAPPENED
It took a few innings for the Gauchos to get going, and the top of the first was perhaps the only real blemish on their Sunday performance. An eight-pitch at-bat ended in a lead-off walk to start, and that runner stole second, then advanced to third on a groundout. Flora should have been out of the inning unscathed, but a dropped fly ball allowed that runner to score. The Gauchos' big righty did respond by striking out the next Aggie hitter on three pitches to end the frame, then he retired the side in order in the second.

On offense, Santa Barbara loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the third, chasing Davis' starting pitcher, but the Aggie reliever got the visitors out of the jam. However, with a new reliever on the mound for the fourth, the Gauchos got on the board. They loaded the bases again, this time with no outs, thanks to a walk, hit batter and an infield single, prompting another pitching change. Esquer greeted the new Aggie arm with a two-RBI single back up the middle, putting Santa Barbara in front, 2-1. McCollum was the next man up and re-loaded the bases by beating the throw to first after his bunt back to the pitcher. Jonathan Mendez's one-out single back up the middle scored two more Gauchos to make it 4-1.

Santa Barbara kept on building their lead in the fifth, with Barrett and Kelly both smacking singles up the middle to put runners on the corners with one out. Nunez drove one run home with a base hit to right, then Esquer plated another with a sacrifice fly to left.

Back on the mound, Flora faced the minimum in the top of the sixth thanks to a 4-3 double play wiping away a leadoff single, and he worked another scoreless frame in the seventh, ending his day with a strikeout.

The Gaucho offense put on their running shoes to scratch two more across in the bottom of the seventh; Calvin was hit by a pitch and promptly stole second, then Kelly singled back up the middle and stole second himself. With runners on second and third with just one out, Nunez tallied his second RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly, and Esquer followed that up by a scalded infield single that smacked off the third baseman's glove to score Santa Barbara's eighth run of the game.

Raymond Olivas took over on the mound for the eighth and made the first two outs on just four pitches. Back-to-back singles and a double quickly turned the mood of the inning though, as Davis cut their deficit to 8-2. With runners on second and third, the Aggies' designated hitter lined a ball deep to right field, tailing away from Kelly out there, but the Gauchos' freshman ran it down and made a leaping catch on the warning track to limit the damage to just one run.

Another Gaucho freshman was involved in a similar robbery in the bottom of the eighth, as Jack Meissner sent a fly ball all the way to the wall in right center, only for Davis' center fielder to make the grab, his glove right at the top of the fence.

The Gauchos had more traffic to deal with in the ninth, a single and walk putting two Aggies on with no outs, but Donovann Jackson came in from the bullpen and dealt with the trouble. He got the first man he faced to fly out to center field, then won a nine-pitch at-bat to strike out the next batter. The crafty lefty then made the final out himself, fielding a grounder back to him to wrap up the win.

BY THE NUMBERS
Over the three games this weekend, Gaucho pitching only allowed two earned runs, lowering their team ERA to 3.45. The last time Santa Barbara allowed two or fewer earned runs in a series was April 19-21, 2024, when they played UC Davis.
Sunday's game was the third this season in which the Gauchos only hit singles, and the first of those games that they have won. The last time Santa Barbara won a game without an extra-base hit was May 10, 2022 against Saint Mary's. Their eight runs are the most that the Gauchos have scored without an extra-base hit in the Andrew Checketts era, the previous high being seven, from their 7-1 win over Wagner on March 22, 2014.
McCollum led the Santa Barbara offense with three singles on Sunday, going 3-for-5 to not only extend his on-base streak to 26 games but also improve his batting average in Big West games to .441.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will conclude this homestand on Tuesday, April 8 against Pepperdine. Santa Barbara defeated the Waves, 13-2, earlier this year and is seeking a first season sweep of their neighbors from Malibu since 2021. First pitch is set for 4:35 p.m. at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, and fans can catch all the action from wherever they are by watching live on ESPN+. Live stats and an audio-only broadcast will also be available at ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).