Mike Klan
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –
Big West Baseball:
UCSB 8, UC Irvine 4: The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (25-12, 12-6 Big West) hung seven runs on the board early, then hung on to that lead late, squashing a UC Irvine (17-21, 8-10 Big West) rally for an 8-4 win. With it, the Gauchos secured their first series win over the Anteaters since 2022 and its second win on national television this week. Xavier Esquer, Jonathan Mendez and Colin Beazizo led the offensive outburst, while Cole Tryba delivered what is now becoming a customary long relief outing to earn the win. When things got hairy late, AJ Krodel cleaned up to earn his fourth save of the year.
HOW IT HAPPENEDSanta Barbara has long known it has two center fielders in Rowan Kelly and Colin Beazizo, but after this weekend head coach Andrew Checketts can be comfortable deploying either of them in the leadoff spot of the batting order. Beazizo hit .364/.462/.636 in that top spot over the weekend, including a lead-off double on Sunday. The usual lead-off man, Kelly, drove Beazizo home with an RBI single, then stole second and scored on Mendez’ RBI base knock.
With a 2-0 lead before he even took the field, the Gauchos’ veteran workhorse Kellan Montgomery had no problem saddling up and ploughing his way through the Anteater bats. The senior put Irvine down in order on just 11 pitches in the bottom of the first, then watched his squad manufacture another run of cushion in the second. The bottom of the order got the job done with three straight singles, Corey Nunez’s of the infield variety to lead things off and Esquer’s of the RBI variety to bring him home.
Montgomery delivered another shutdown inning to keep the momentum in Santa Barbara’s hands, winning a 13-pitch battle to start the bottom of the second, then striking out the next batter on just three pitches. And again, he got to put his feet up and watch the bats work in the top of the third. Liam Barrett’s hard-hit double to right helped load the bases, and Esquer cleared them with a double to deep center field, narrowly missing a grand slam. Beazizo brought Esquer home with an RBI single, and the Gauchos were up by a touchdown.
Another long break did not bother Montgomery, who left two Anteaters stranded on base in the bottom of the third, ending that inning with a strikeout. The fourth was the first inning in which Santa Barbara failed to score and Irvine was able to put numbers on the board, doing so with a two-run homer. Some thrilling defense kept the damage from getting any worse. Kelly nearly made a diving catch in center, but even after the ball bounced off his glove, Barrett started a relay home through Nunez and Nate Vargas that was in plenty of time for the run-saving out. Montgomery’s day ended after walking the first batter of the fifth, with Tryba summoned to replace him and for the second inning in a row, the Gaucho defense ended the inning with a highlight play. This time it was Beazizo, ranging to the very limit of foul ground in left field, reaching up and making the catch against the fence of Irvine’s bullpen.
Beazizo got to lead off the following inning and was hit by a pitch, then quickly took second on what was his third advancement on a wild pitch of the afternoon, a showcase of aggressive baserunning. He would later earn himself a triple by attacking the basepaths in the top of the eighth. But first, he had a run to score in the sixth. He made it to third on a groundout, then came home on Kelly’s sacrifice fly, bringing the Gauchos’ lead back up to six at 8-2.
Tryba made that lead stick through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings but was tagged for a lead-off home run in the ninth. His day ended with the bases loaded and two outs, a spot from which the Anteaters did walk home their fourth run before Krodel entered. It took him three pitches to induce the game-ending groundout.
With the win and results elsewhere, the Gauchos move into first place in The Big West standings with four weeks left to play, sharing the same record as Cal Poly and UC San Diego but holding the tiebreaker over both of those teams.
UP NEXTSanta Barbara completes its four-game road trip with a stop in Riverside for a rare Monday game, paying a visit to California Baptist, which has received votes in multiple ranking polls. Calvin Proskey is set to start on the mound for the Gauchos, with first pitch from James W. Totman Stadium scheduled for 5 p.m. Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+ or by following along with live stats and a free, audio-only broadcast at ucsbgauchos.com.
UCSD 16, Cal Poly 15: The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (25-12, 12-6 Big West) hung seven runs on the board early, then hung on to that lead late, squashing a UC Irvine (17-21, 8-10 Big West) rally for an 8-4 win. With it, the Gauchos secured their first series win over the Anteaters since 2022 and its second win on national television this week. Xavier Esquer, Jonathan Mendez and Colin Beazizo led the offensive outburst, while Cole Tryba delivered what is now becoming a customary long relief outing to earn the win. When things got hairy late, AJ Krodel cleaned up to earn his fourth save of the year.
HOW IT HAPPENEDSanta Barbara has long known it has two center fielders in Rowan Kelly and Colin Beazizo, but after this weekend head coach Andrew Checketts can be comfortable deploying either of them in the leadoff spot of the batting order. Beazizo hit .364/.462/.636 in that top spot over the weekend, including a lead-off double on Sunday. The usual lead-off man, Kelly, drove Beazizo home with an RBI single, then stole second and scored on Mendez’ RBI base knock.
With a 2-0 lead before he even took the field, the Gauchos’ veteran workhorse Kellan Montgomery had no problem saddling up and ploughing his way through the Anteater bats. The senior put Irvine down in order on just 11 pitches in the bottom of the first, then watched his squad manufacture another run of cushion in the second. The bottom of the order got the job done with three straight singles, Corey Nunez’s of the infield variety to lead things off and Esquer’s of the RBI variety to bring him home.
Montgomery delivered another shutdown inning to keep the momentum in Santa Barbara’s hands, winning a 13-pitch battle to start the bottom of the second, then striking out the next batter on just three pitches. And again, he got to put his feet up and watch the bats work in the top of the third. Liam Barrett’s hard-hit double to right helped load the bases, and Esquer cleared them with a double to deep center field, narrowly missing a grand slam. Beazizo brought Esquer home with an RBI single, and the Gauchos were up by a touchdown.
Another long break did not bother Montgomery, who left two Anteaters stranded on base in the bottom of the third, ending that inning with a strikeout. The fourth was the first inning in which Santa Barbara failed to score and Irvine was able to put numbers on the board, doing so with a two-run homer. Some thrilling defense kept the damage from getting any worse. Kelly nearly made a diving catch in center, but even after the ball bounced off his glove, Barrett started a relay home through Nunez and Nate Vargas that was in plenty of time for the run-saving out. Montgomery’s day ended after walking the first batter of the fifth, with Tryba summoned to replace him and for the second inning in a row, the Gaucho defense ended the inning with a highlight play. This time it was Beazizo, ranging to the very limit of foul ground in left field, reaching up and making the catch against the fence of Irvine’s bullpen.
Beazizo got to lead off the following inning and was hit by a pitch, then quickly took second on what was his third advancement on a wild pitch of the afternoon, a showcase of aggressive baserunning. He would later earn himself a triple by attacking the basepaths in the top of the eighth. But first, he had a run to score in the sixth. He made it to third on a groundout, then came home on Kelly’s sacrifice fly, bringing the Gauchos’ lead back up to six at 8-2.
Tryba made that lead stick through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings but was tagged for a lead-off home run in the ninth. His day ended with the bases loaded and two outs, a spot from which the Anteaters did walk home their fourth run before Krodel entered. It took him three pitches to induce the game-ending groundout.
With the win and results elsewhere, the Gauchos move into first place in The Big West standings with four weeks left to play, sharing the same record as Cal Poly and UC San Diego but holding the tiebreaker over both of those teams.
UP NEXTSanta Barbara completes its four-game road trip with a stop in Riverside for a rare Monday game, paying a visit to California Baptist, which has received votes in multiple ranking polls. Calvin Proskey is set to start on the mound for the Gauchos, with first pitch from James W. Totman Stadium scheduled for 5 p.m. Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+ or by following along with live stats and a free, audio-only broadcast at ucsbgauchos.com.
Big West Softball:
UCSB 1, CSUN 0: The UC Santa Barbara softball team edged CSUN with a 1-0 victory at Campus Diamond on Sunday. Ainsley Waddell pitched a one-hit complete-game shutout, allowing just one walk and striking out six.
HOW IT HAPPENEDUC Santa Barbara secured a narrow 1-0 victory against Cal State Northridge. The game remained scoreless through the first two innings with both teams unable to put much pressure on one another. The Matadors got a runner on in the first inning, but could not bring them around. Ainsley Waddell, after the double in the first set down the next seven hitters.
In the bottom of the third inning, Ainsley Waddell was hit by a pitch, and Jazzy Santos executed a sacrifice bunt, advancing Waddell to second. Dani Rauscher then singled to second base and advanced to second on a throwing error, allowing Waddell to score an unearned run. UCSB led 1-0 at the end of the third inning.
Both teams were held scoreless in the subsequent innings, with UC Santa Barbara maintaining a strong defensive performance to preserve its lead. Waddell completed the game, pitching a complete-game shutout with six strikeouts, allowing just one hit. Waddell was nearly unhittable on the mound as the only base runner to reach after the third inning was on a fielding error. Only three CSUN hitters reached base in the game and only one made it to second base.
UP NEXTUC Santa Barbara will hit the road for the last time in the regular season as they travel to UC Davis on Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April, 26. The Gauchos and Aggies will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available.
NCAA Men’s Tennis:
Pepperdine 4, UCSB 2:No. 35 UC Santa Barbara closed out its regular season Sunday afternoon at the Arnhold Tennis Center with a hard-fought 4-2 loss to No. 28 Pepperdine, as the Waves secured the doubles point and three singles victories.
THE MATCHFinal: #35 UC Santa Barbara 2, #28 Pepperdine 4Records: #35 UC Santa Barbara (16-7), #28 Pepperdine (16-8)
HOW IT HAPPENEDPepperdine set the tone early by claiming the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. The No. 55-ranked duo of Miguel Avendano and Lucca Liu fell 6-2 on court one, followed by a 6-2 decision on court two to give the Waves a 1-0 lead. The pairing of Diogo Morais and Lorenzo Brunkow held a 5-4 edge on court three before the match was left unfinished.
UC Santa Barbara struck first in singles through Morais, who delivered a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win on court three to even the match at 1-1.
Pepperdine responded with back-to-back wins on courts two and one. No. 57 Dominique Rolland fell 6-3, 6-0, followed by a 6-1, 6-4 decision on court one where No. 89 Lucca Liu was topped, giving the Waves a 3-1 advantage.
Charlie Underwood kept the Gauchos within reach with a steady 6-4, 6-4 win on court five, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Karel Fromel delivered a gritty performance on court six, battling through three sets and continuing to fight deep into the third before narrowly falling 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, as Pepperdine secured the clinching point. The match on court four between Avendano and Maxi Homberg was left unfinished in the third set, with Avendano up 40-30, looking to even it up in the third set.
RESULTSDoubles
Edward Winter/David Fix (PEPP) def. #55 Miguel Avendano/Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-2
Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida/Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. Conrad Brown/Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 6-2
Diogo Morais/Lorenzo Brunkow (UCSB) vs. Aleksa Pisaric/Maxi Homberg 5-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
Edward Winter (PEPP) def. #89 Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-1, 6-4
Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. #57 Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 6-3, 6-0
Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) 6-1, 6-1
Miguel Avendano (UCSB) vs. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 5-7, 6-4, 3-4, unfinished
Charlie Underwood (UCSB) def. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP) 6-4, 6-4
David Fix (PEPP) def. Karel Fromel (UCSB) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1, 5, 6
UP NEXTDespite sharing the regular season title with UC Irvine and Cal Poly, the Gauchos earned the No. 1 seed in the Big West Championship, securing a double bye into the semifinals. UC Santa Barbara will compete at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego on Apr. 25, with their opponent to be determined.
(Information courtesy of UCSB and Cal Poly Athletics)
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