Gauchos are a hit in series opener at Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (22-10, 8-8) kept their bats hot on Friday night, scoring runs in each of the first five innings en route to a 13-4 win over UC Riverside (12-20, 3-13 Big West). Tyler Bremner struck out 10 Highlanders and earned the win on the mound, climbing to second on Santa Barbara's career strikeouts list in the process. At the plate, all nine Gauchos in the lineup got a hit, with three of them tallying three, while LeTrey McCollum led the team with three RBIs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Santa Barbara took the lead early, putting up a crooked number in the top of the first. Xavier Esquer led off with a single on the first pitch of the game, then Cole Kosciusko's double put Gauchos on second and third with just one out. The doubles continued, with Jonathan Mendez plating two runs on one to the gap in left center, then Ian Fernandez driving one over the center fielder's head to plate Mendez and make it 3-0.

Bremner struck out two Highlanders in the bottom of the first, allowing just a two-out single, and the Gaucho offense tacked on another run in the top of the second. Reiss Calvin led off the frame with another double and moved to third on Nolan Farley's sacrifice bunt. Calvin then scored on Kosciusko's infield single, a towering pop-up that dropped between the third baseman and shortstop.

Bremner got into trouble for the one and only time in the bottom of the fourth. The Highlanders scored four runs on six hits in the inning, though the Santa Barbara ace did get all three of his outs by way of the K in the frame. Even better for Bremner, the offense picked him up and re-took the lead in the top of the third. Kelly's two-out double put a Gaucho in scoring position, and Fernandez's two-out, two-strike single brought him home to put Santa Barbara back in front, 5-4. Bremner came back and retired the Highlanders in order in the bottom half of the inning.

In the fourth and fifth innings, the Gauchos broke the game wide open. In the top of the fourth, McCollum's two-run home run to left center made it 7-4. In the fifth, Fernandez continued his great night with another RBI, singling to left center to plate Nate Vargas, who had led off the inning with a bunt single. Nolan Farley made it 9-4 with a sacrifice fly, then Esquer plated two more runs with a single into the right center field gap, putting Santa Barbara up, 11-4. Bremner stayed in firm command on the mound in the bottom of the fifth, striking out the side on just 11 pitches.

The righty put up another perfect inning in the bottom of the sixth, and the Gaucho offense put their finishing touches on the game in the top of the seventh. After an error and an infield single, McCollum scored Santa Barbara's 12th run of the night with a sacrifice bunt, then Kosciusko made it 14 with a single up the middle.

Donovann Jackson took over on the bump in the bottom of the seventh and worked around a lead-off infield single, then worked around a lead-off hit batter in the eighth, with two strikeouts. Stunner Gonzalez took over for the lefty in the ninth and got the first two Highlanders he faced, including his first career strikeout. After his first career hit batter, he bounced back with his second career K to end the game.

BY THE NUMBERS
After a second consecutive 10-strikeout performance on Friday, Bremner overtook both Shane Bieber and Rodney Boone on UC Santa Barbara's career strikeouts list, moving into second in program history. With 241 in his career, he is 33 away from matching Dan Yokubaitis' record.
Friday was the first game this season in which the Gauchos have tallied 18 or more hits. The last time Santa Barbara had that many hits was on May 24, 2024, when they faced… UC Riverside.
Gonzalez's ninth-inning cameo was his second appearance in as many games for the Gauchos after he debuted in the ninth of Tuesday night's win.
As one of the three Gauchos with three hits on the night, Kelly set a new career high, his first three-hit outing as a collegiate baseball player. He has hits in each of his last five games now.

UP NEXT
Santa Barbara will look to secure the series win on Saturday, April 12 in game two from the Riverside Sports Complex. First pitch is set for 6 p.m., with Calvin Proskey set to take the mound for the Gauchos. The game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio broadcast available through ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).