Mike Klan
UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –
Big West Softball:
UCSB 4, CSUN 3 Game 1: In the first game, UC Santa Barbara secured a narrow 4-3 victory. The Gauchos capitalized early, scoring three runs in the first inning. Dani Rauscher drew a walk, followed by Tehya Banks’ single, advancing Rauscher to second. Emily Carr then doubled down the right field line and advanced to third on a throwing error, bringing in both Rauscher and Banks. Delaina Ma’ae then singled to right field, driving in Carr and giving UC Santa Barbara an early 3-0 lead by the end of the first inning.
Cal State Northridge responded in the fourth inning, scoring three runs to tie the game. Prior to the Matadors three run inning, Sophia Clark had set down the first 10 batters of the game. After a Matador reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced on an error, a double down the left field line scored two runs. Another single brought home the unearned third run for Cal State Northridge. However, UC Santa Barbara regained the lead when Bella Fuentes singled, advanced on a fielder’s choice, and scored on Mejia’s groundout, making the score 4-3 by the end of the fourth inning. The fifth, sixth, and seventh innings were scoreless for both teams, with UC Santa Barbara’s defense holding firm to secure the win.
Clark finished with another stellar pitching line. The freshman pitched seven innings, allowing three runs (one earned), while striking out three.
UCSB 9, CSUN 0 (5 innings, Game 2): In the second game, UC Santa Barbara decisively defeated the Matadors with a final score of 9-0. The Gauchos recorded 13 hits, including two home runs, while Malaya Johnson allowed only two hits in a complete-game shutout.
(Malaya Johnson struck out six batters as she improves to 10-8 on the year. Entenza Design).
Tehya Banks hit a home run in the first inning, securing an early lead for UC Santa Barbara. The inning concluded with the Gauchos leading 1-0. The second inning saw further action as Bella Fuentes singled to left field, followed by a two-run home run by Ella Myers. Jazzy Santos doubled, and Emily Carr singled through the right side, driving in another run, ending the inning with UC Santa Barbara ahead 4-0.
The Gauchos continued to extend their lead in the third inning; Fuentes singled and later scored on a single by Dani Rauscher. A wild pitch allowed Jaelyn Toledo to score, and Banks drove in Rauscher with a single, pushing the score to 7-0. During the fourth inning, Cat Benitez, pinch-hitting for Delaina Ma’ae, singled and was advanced by Fuentes’ double. Myers singled, bringing in Benitez, and Toledo’s sacrifice fly scored Kaylin Garcia, who was pinch-running for Fuentes, leading to a 9-0 advantage after the fourth inning.
In the fifth inning, Cal State Northridge was unable to generate any offense, resulting in a complete game shutout by Malaya Johnson, who pitched 5 innings with six strikeouts.
Big West Baseball:
UC Irvine 6, UCSB 3: A tough third inning undid the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (24-12, 11-6 Big West) on Saturday, with UC Irvine (17-20, 8-9 Big West) riding that four-run frame to a series-evening 6-3 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENEDVargas came up big on both sides of the ball for Santa Barbara, throwing out a runner to end the bottom of the first, then leading off the bottom of the second with his second double of the weekend. Rowan Kelly singled to move him over to third, then the Gaucho catcher scampered home on a passed ball, narrowly evading the tag at the plate.
After two innings of facing the minimum, Nathan Aceves got into trouble in the third, surrendering four runs that would eventually decide the game. Not that the Santa Barbara bats were going to just roll over. Vargas’ one-out walk served as the catalyst for a two-out rally in the top of the fourth, with Jonathan Mendez’s single plating Vargas and Cole Kosciusko’s ground-rule double that bounced over the wall in center plating Corey Nunez. That bounce was a bit unlucky for Santa Barbara, as Mendez was held at third by rule. He would stay there and the Gauchos would stay a run behind, down 4-3.
A solo home run to start the bottom of the fourth got one of those runs back for the Anteaters, then a couple of two-out singles in the seventh restored the home team’s three-run lead. The score remained unchanged from there.
UP NEXTSaturday’s loss sets up a rubber match on Sunday, when the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. from Anteater Ballpark in Irvine. Fans can also follow along on ucsbgauchos.com with live stats and a free audio-only broadcast.
Cal Poly 5, UCSD 3: Carson Turnquist did not allow an earned run over five innings and struck out 11, Alejandro Garza produced another three-hit game and knocked in two runs and Jake Downing doubled three times in a 4-for-4 day at the plate as Cal Poly defeated UC San Diego 5-3 on Saturday afternoon at Triton Ballpark.
The victory propelled Coach Larry Lee’s Mustangs into sole possession of first place in the Big West standings as UC Santa Barbara fell at UC Irvine 6-3. Cal Poly is 21-16 overall and 12-5 in conference contests, one game ahead of the Tritons and UC Santa Barbara (both 11-6 Big West).
Turnquist’s strikeout total exceeded his previous career high of eight set at UC Riverside four weeks ago. He walked just one and scattered three hits over five innings, throwing 99 pitches, as the Paso Robles High School graduate improved his record to 3-2 on the year.
Chris Downs (one inning) and Josh Morano (1 1/3 innings) both allowed a run and Nick Bonn secured the final five outs without giving up a run to earn his ninth save.
Garza went 3-for-5 with a double and knocked in a run with a groundout in the second inning and a single to left field in the sixth. It was Garza’s seventh multiple-hit game in his last nine starts and 12th in 18, giving him a team-leading 19 for the season.
Garza’s average has climbed 100 points to .369 over the last six weeks (22 games).
Downing became the 17th Mustang in 32 Division I seasons to double three times in a single game — one shy of the record four set by Collin Villegas at Cal State Bakersfield in April 2023 — with two-baggers in the second, fourth and sixth innings.
Hitting in the ninth spot in the batting order, Downing scored twice Saturday and, with three singles and a pair of RBIs in Friday’s 11-3 triumph, is 7-for-9 in the series after his fourth game of three or more hits in the last four weeks.
Downing has gone 20-for-51 (.392) since and including the UC Riverside series four weeks ago to lift his average 111 points to .261. He did not have a three-hit game in his first 22 contests this season but has four in his last 13 starts.
Ryan Tayman added two hits, Cam Hoiland singled up the middle to knock in the first run of the game in the opening frame and a sacrifice fly by Braxton Thomas drove in the second run of the inning.
It was 3-1 on Garza’s RBI grounder to third base in the second inning and Cal Poly stretched the advantage to 4-1 on Nate Castellon’s single and UCSD throwing error in the fourth and 5-1 on Garza’s run-scoring single to left field in the sixth.
UC San Diego trimmed the deficit to 5-3 with single runs in the sixth and eighth frames before the Mustang bullpen closed out the contest.
The Tritons’ seven hits included two hits each by Gabe Camacho and JC Allen. The loss was charged to UCSD starter Trevor Rector (0-2) as the right-hander surrendered three runs on five hits in two innings.
Cal Poly’s four pitchers combined to strike out 14 Triton batters. The Mustangs lead the all-time series against UCSD, 10-8. Cal Poly amassed double-digit hits for the fifth straight game. UCSD had a baserunner in each of the first 12 innings of the series before Turnquist retired the side in order in the fourth frame Saturday.
Final game of the series will be played Sunday at 1:05 p.m. at Triton Ballpark. Cal Poly freshman right-hander Corden Pettey (2-2, 4.39 ERA) will face UC San Diego graduate right-hander Nic Gregson (0-7, 6.02 ERA).
NCAA PacWest Baseball:
Point Loma 7, Westmont 0 Game 1
Point Loma 9, Westmont 1 Game 2: Westmont Baseball (23-16, 20-16 PacWest) couldn’t come up with the offense in Saturday’s doubleheader at Point Loma (35-8, 31-8) and dropped both games. Westmont fell 7-0 in game one and 9-1 in game two.
The Warriors tallied just three hits in the early game. Westmont’s best chance to score came in the fifth inning when Braydon Griffin and Isaac Veal provided back-to-back singles with one away. However, second base was as close as the Warriors would get to pushing across a run.
Hunter Hammond took the loss for the Warriors. Over six innings, he allowed seven runs (six earned) on seven hits. He did not surrender a walk. Gavin Vanderpool pitched two innings. He did not allow a run and gave up two hits. Vanderpool struck out two and walked one.
Westmont produced six hits in the second game. The only Warrior run of the day came in the sixth inning. With one away, Veal doubled down the left field line. Then with two outs, Jesse Di Maggio hit an RBI-single up the middle to bring Veal home.
Starter Matt Vazquez was assigned the loss after allowing three runs on four hits.
With six games remaining in PacWest play, Westmont finds itself in sixth place in the conference standings. Westmont is one game behind both Jessup (26-18, 22-16) and Fresno Pacific (20-14) and one and one-half games behind Hawai’i Pacific (23-18, 21-14) which is in third place.
Monday, the Warriors will play Hawai’i Pacific in a doubleheader at Vanguard, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Big West Women’s Tennis:
UCSB 4, Cal Poly 0: The UC Santa Barbara Women’s Tennis team capped off a perfect conference season in dominant fashion Saturday afternoon, sweeping Cal Poly 4-0 in the classic Blue-Green rivalry at the Ronca Tennis Center to clinch the Big West regular season title outright.
The Gauchos closed the weekend with back-to-back sweeps, after defeating CSUN 4-0 the day prior, to finish 9-0 in conference play and secure the program’s place atop the Big West standings.
THE MATCHFinal: #48 UC Santa Barbara 4, Cal Poly 0Records: #48 UC Santa Barbara (15-8, 9-0 Big West), Cal Poly (12-9, 7-2 Big West)
HOW IT HAPPENEDUC Santa Barbara set the tone early by capturing the doubles point with wins on courts two and one. Lily Pradkin and Shanelle Iaconi delivered a commanding 6-1 victory, before Ekua Youri and Caroline Beard battled to a 7-6 (7-3) tiebreak win at the top spot to secure the early 1-0 advantage.
UC Santa Barbara remained in control throughout singles play, winning all three completed matches in straight sets. Emma Tutoveanu extended the lead with a decisive 6-2, 6-1 win on court three. Raphaelle Leroux followed with a 6-1, 6-3 victory on court six to push the advantage to 3-0.
With the title on the line in the Blue-Green rivalry, Lily Pradkin clinched the match on court four, grinding out a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win to seal the 4-0 sweep and secure the Big West regular season championship for the Blue and Gold.
Three additional singles matches went unfinished as UC Santa Barbara clinched the final point.
RESULTSDoubles
Ekua Youri/Caroline Beard (UCSB) def. Candela Aparisi/Natalie Lynch (CP) 7-6 (7-3)
Lily Pradkin/Shanelle Iaconi (UCSB) def. Bonita Jakupovic-Kl/Kennedy Buntrock (CP) 6-1
Jessica MacCallum/Sarah MacCallum (CP) def. My-Anh Holmes/Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB) 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
Ekua Youri (UCSB) vs. Kennedy Buntrock (CP) 6-4, 4-6, 2-3, unfinished
Isabella Wong (UCSB) vs. Jessica MacCallum (CP) 5-7, 6-3, 3-0, unfinished
Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB) def. Candela Aparisi (CP) 6-2, 6-1
Lily Pradkin (UCSB) def. Alexandra Ozerets (CP) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
My-Anh Holmes (UCSB) vs. Natalie Lynch (CP) 2-6, 6-4, 2-5, unfinished
Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB) def. Sarah MacCallum (CP) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 6, 4
UP NEXTWith the regular season concluding in a win, the Gauchos have secured the top seed in the Big West Championships and earned a double bye into the semifinals, where they will begin competition on Apr. 24 at 10 a.m.
NCAA Beach Volleyball: The Cal Poly beach volleyball team finished the regular season on a high note, sweeping both of its matches Saturday in Stanford. The No. 6 Mustangs (26-8) beat both Pepperdine and No. 7 Cal by scores of 5-0.
Cal Poly started the day by sweeping the Waves before finishing it with the shutout of the No. 7 Golden Bears. Cal Poly used the same five pairings in each of the two duels, with eight of the 10 points coming via straight set victories.
The No. 1 pair of Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep improved their record to 29-5 after their two wins Saturday. It was a historic day for the No. 2 pair of Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter as broke the program record for most career pair wins. With their two victories Saturday, they now have 60 career wins together. They are 30-3 this season.
The No. 3 duo of Quinn Perry and Ashleigh Adams improved to 23-4 together this season with a pair of wins Saturday. The No. 4 pair of Julia Westby and Elise Lenahan, who went 4-0 on the weekend, are now 24-3 together this season. At the No. 5 spot, it was Peyton Dueck and Katie Clevenger, who are now 4-2 together after their two wins Saturday.
With the regular season now done, Cal Poly now prepares for the Big West Championship next week which the Mustangs will host at Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex April 23-24. The Mustangs will enter it as the No. 1 seed and will play their first two matches of it Thursday, April 23 at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. The Mustangs are seeking their first conference title since the last time they hosted in 2022.
(Articles provided by UCSB and Cal Poly Athletics).
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