Author: KEYT

Tracy Lehr

VENTURA, Calif. – The California Strawberry festival raised money for non-profits and scholarships over the weekend.

The Oxnard High School Marching Band welcomed people at the entrance and marched throughout the festival.

High school music programs sold all kinds of strawberry treats, including funnel cakes and churros.

Student volunteers also helped people build their own strawberry shortcakes.

The festival began in the Channel Islands Harbor in 1984, and then moved to Strawberry Meadows by Oxnard College, before finding a new home at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

“Every year it gets better, we improve it, we listen to all the comments and we make adjustments,” said festival chair Dean Kato. “We make it more comfortable for all the guests.”

A memorial scholarship is named after Kato’s father who was one of the original founders.

Festivalgoers quenched their thirst with strawberry smoothies, strawberry margaritas, and strawberry beer.

People rarely leave empty handed.

They buy chocolate covered strawberries and entire flats of berries and souvenirs to bring home.

Between now and next year the festival will be awarding scholarships and grants from the money raised in May when local strawberries are plump and sweet.

For more information visit http://www.castrawberryfestival.org

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Caleb Nguyen

LOMPOC, Calif. – Santa Barbara County Fire Department crews were on scene of a fatal four car crash just after 6:00 p.m. on Highway 1 southeast of Lompoc.

SBCFD said three victims were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

An adult female was transported with major injuries from the scene by helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Emergency Room. An adult male additionally was sent to the emergency room by ambulance with major injuries.

SBCFD said one vehicle had flipped upside down on the center divider.

Highway 1 has reopened after being closed in both directions.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

GAVIOTA STATE BEACH, Calif. – “We need to remember how fragile and vulnerable our ocean and our coasts are and in a moment, everything can change,” said Linda Krop, Chief Counsel at Environmental Defense Center.

May 19th, 2025 marks 10 years since the devastating Refugio oil spill. 

“It was a really devastating spill, so we’re here to commemorate that event and be steadfast in our opposition to that happening again,” said Sierra club member, Katie Davis.

A corroded oil pipeline ruptured and poured over 120,000 gallons of crude oil in the ocean at Gaviota State beach, killing numerous marine mammals and birds and traveling all the way to Orange county.

On Sunday, people gathered to commemorate the 10th anniversary and paddle out into the water chanting, clapping, and participating in the movement to end offshore oil drilling.

“I am part of the Santa Barbara Surf rider executive committee and being inspired by all of the people willing to paddle out on a Sunday morning to keep fighting the same fight and prevent mistakes from happening its empowering, also a little bittersweet,” said Climate Scientist Jess Bode, who paddled out Sunday morning.

“It’s really moving to see that after 10 years we haven’t forgotten, this community has not forgotten, we still remember that day and our beaches,” said Davis.

Speeches were given before people paddled out on their surfboards, kayaks, and paddle boards. Kids of different ages were in attendance being educated.

“This is their future. I mean, we need to pave the way to make sure that they have happy, healthy, good quality of lives and we’re seeing over and over again with natural disasters and oil spills that we are making that really difficult for them to have a good quality of life,” said Bode.

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Caleb Nguyen

SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. – CAL Fire SLO crews were on scene for a vegetation fire at the Carrizo Plains in Santa Margarita just before noon on Sunday.

The fire first broke out near Helios Way and was reported under solar panels, according to CAL Fire SLO.

Locals put out the fire at one acre before 12:30 p.m. and crews mopped up the fire for a few hours after, detailed CAL Fire SLO.

More information will be provided as it becomes available to Your News Channel on this fire.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Standout sophomore Elina Stump captured the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 long jump championship with a personal best 18-7.25.

Stump also got on the podium two more times as she finished second in the triple jump and 100m hurdles,

Up next for Stump is next week’s CIF Masters Meet whee she will compete in all three.

Several other local athletes advanced to the Masters Meet as well.

Santa Barbara high jumper Carter Battle and the Dons Malachi Johnston in the shot put qualified with their performances.

Cullen Gully of Dos Pueblos qualified in the mile at 4:13.11 and with a 1:57.28 in the 800 meter.

Both times were personal-best times for Gully and the mile was the second fastest in DP program history.

“Two PRs at CIF Finals is no small feat,” said Coach David Jackson. “It’s a testament to his work ethic and mental toughness.”

Ethan Ball of San Marcos is headed to the Masters Meet after a second place finish in the 110 hurdles at 14.43 seconds.

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Mike Klan

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Gauchos have played their best softball in must-win elimination games.

Add two more pressure-cooker victories to their impressive list.

UCSB beat Arizona State 4-3 and then followed that up with a late night 7-5 8-inning win against San Diego State to stay alive at the Los Angeles Regional.

Last week UCSB won six straight elimination games to win the Big West Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

After losing to host UCLA on Friday 9-1, the Gauchos went into familiar territory of playing elimination games, first up was Arizona State.

GAME ONE: GAUCHOS 4, SUN DEVILS 3 (10 INN.)In the fourth inning, the Sun Devils took the lead with two runs. After a bunt single an RBI single, brought home the first run of the game. An additional run was added on a sac fly, giving ASU a 2–0 advantage.

UC Santa Barbara responded in the fifth inning. Erin Mendoza’s single kickstarted the offense, followed by Jazzy Santos’s single that advanced Mendoza to third. Giselle Mejia’s RBI single put UCSB on the scoreboard and cut into the Sun Devil lead. Tehya Banks then delivered a crucial double to right center, driving in two runs and putting the Gauchos ahead 3–2 after the fifth inning.

ASU added another run in the fifth inning, taking advantage of a fielding error to level the score at 3–3. However, UC Santa Barbara’s defense held firm for the remainder of the game, preventing any further scoring from the Sun Devils.

In the tenth inning, with the score tied, Santos was hit by a pitch and later advanced to third on a wild pitch. Delaina Ma’ae’s single to shortstop led to a throwing error that allowed Santos to score the winning run, securing a 4–3 victory for UC Santa Barbara.

The Gauchos and Sun Devils battled out the 10 inning affair and in the end UC Santa Barbara outlasted Arizona State to win their first ever NCAA Championship game. Malaya Johnson threw all 10 innings picking up her 23rd win of the season and totaling a season-high 149 pitches. The 2025 Big West Pitcher of the Year struck out five while the Sun Devils scattered 10 hits in the game.

GAME TWO: GAUCHOS 7, AZTECS 5 (8 INN.)UC Santa Barbara opened the game with a strong start, scoring two runs in the first inning. Giselle Mejia and Tehya Banks reached base, setting up Bella Fuentes for a crucial two-RBI single to right field, giving UC Santa Barbara an early lead. SDSU was unable to respond in the bottom half, leaving the score 2–0.

In the third inning, SDSU took the lead with a three-run homer, shifting the momentum and putting them ahead 3–2. UC Santa Barbara responded in the fifth inning, reclaiming the lead with a three-run homer by Jazzy Santos, which brought in Erin Mendoza and pinch runner Lucy Mogan, making it 5–4 in favor of UC Santa Barbara.

After the Aztecs tied the game up in the bottom of the seventh, UC Santa Barbara regained the lead in the eighth inning. Elicia Acosta homered down the right field line, followed by a double from Delaina Ma’ae, who scored on a subsequent single by Santos, pushing the score to 7–5. The Aztecs were unable to mount a comeback in the bottom of the eighth, solidifying a 7–5 victory for UC Santa Barbara.

With the win, UC Santa Barbara clinched a spot in the Regional Championship game and improving their record to 8-0 when facing elimination in the postseason.

UP NEXTUC Santa Barbara will meet host institution UCLA tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. for game one of the Regional Championship. Should the Gauchos beat UCLA in the first game a second game will be played 45 minutes following the conclusion of the first game.

(UCSB Athletics provided the game recaps)

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Mike Klan

COLTON, Calif. – Kacey Hurly smashed three home runs including a grand slam to lead Dos Pueblos to a 10-2 CIF-Southern Section Division 4 second round playoff win at Colton.

Hurley belted a 2-run homer in third inning and followed with a grand slam in the fourth inning to put the Chargers up 7-0.

Hurley cleared the fence in left field in the sixth inning for her third home run of the day and seventh RBI.

“It sure was the Kacey Hurley show today,” said head coach Mike Gerken. ” I’m pretty sure she is the first player in program history to hit 3 home runs in a game. What a display. But really, this was a team effort. We got contributions up and down the line up on both offense and defense. Zella Cassidy had an amazing game with the glove, making play after play, including her second diving catch in as many games. I think this game will stick with the players for some time. I’m proud of the way they’ve responded to playoff softball.”

Kaitlyn Ashby pitched a complete game allowing just 5 hits.

Anastasia Brunner drilled a 2-run homer in the sixth inning for DP as well.

Dos Pueblos will host a quarterfinal game on Wednesday afternoon versus Harvard-Westlake.

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Mike Klan

MONTECITO, Calif. – The Westmont Warriors come up one win short of making it to an NCAA Division II Super Regional.

The Warriors had two chances on Saturday to get one victory but instead it’s Cal State Monterey Bay that got to celebrate on Russ Carr Field.

The Otters beat Westmont 6-2 and then followed it up with a 6-4 victory to win this three-team regional and advance to Nampa, Idaho next week to take on the Nighthawks of Northwest Nazarene in a best two-out-of-three Super Regional series.

“Hats off to Monterey Bay,” said Westmont’s head coach Paul Svagdis. “I thought it was a great group of guys. They are competitive and play the game the right way. They have been in this thing for the last few years. To match up with them was certainly exciting for us as a team.”

In the early game, the Otters took a 6-0 lead into the eighth inning before the Warriors got on the board. Westmont’s runs were the result of an RBI single to right by Bryce McFeely that drove in Grant Yzermans and an RBI-double down the right-field line that scored Michael Soper from second. However, that was as close as the Warriors would get.

In the second game, Monterey Bay scored three times in the first and added another run in the third to go ahead 4-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Daniel Patterson hit a one-out solo home run. Trey Dunn came up next and walked before Jesse De Maggio stepped to the plate and hit a 419-feet shot over the center field fence for a two-run home run, pulling the Warriors to within one.

In the top of the sixth, Monterey Bay’s KW Quilici made it a 6-3 game with a two-run home run to right field.

Trey Dunn responded with a solo home run in the top of the sixth as Westmont pulled within two.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Warriors loaded the bases with one away, but were unable to push across a run. The ninth inning also proved to be scoreless.

On the final day of the 2025 season, two performances stood out. Though having suffered an injury in yesterday’s game, McFeely returned to the field for today’s games. After driving in the Warriors first run in the first game, McFeely struggled to get around the bases and was replaced at first by Darrian Choi as a pinch runner.

“Bryce had hurt his hamstring,” said Svagdis. “He’s part of an incredible group of senior young men that I was blessed to be able to coach this year. Between games, when he saw he is in the lineup as the designated hitter, he came up to me and said, ‘I can play first.’

“So, I went with the call from the senior on that one. You could see that he was playing through a lot of pain. He is a senior and he had earned the right to be able to come up to the coach and say, ‘I want to play first base.’ I thought he was going to be able to make the plays, and he certainly did.”

The second standout performance was provided by senior Zach Yates. The Warrior record holder in both career and season saves, entered the game to pitch in the fourth inning and gave Westmont five innings of work.

“After 70 pitches, I think he was on fumes,” noted Svagdis. “He knew he needed to get us into that ninth inning to get to Caden Beloian. He did an incredible job. He closed the game out on Thursday and we were asking a lot. It was a yeoman’s task today and he certainly stepped to the call.”

With the season over, Svagdis had a lot more to say about the team, and especially about his seniors.

“This team cared for each other, played for each other, and they were very selfless,” explained Svagdis. “It was an incredibly dynamic group and they were willing to do all the little things to win baseball games. They were super tight off the field.

“The group of 16 seniors has gone to a world series, has won a world series, has been postseason eligible at the DII level and has earned the right to host and to be the two-seed in the West Regional. Their winning percentage is incredible. They did that through three coaches. For them to go through these three transitions and still compete is a great testament to culture and playing for each other.

“For our younger guys, they have done a lot of observing of what great leadership looks like. They get to walk into the summer and start to exhibit those same qualities on the summer teams they are playing on. Then, they come back in the fall. We have a great recruit class of about 15-18 guys coming in that we are super excited about. The returners will get to continue their leaders with our newcomers.”

Westmont ends a terrific season at 43-14.

(Much of this article is courtesy of Westmont Athletics)

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Mike Klan

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chargers were so close to a perfect season.

Dos Pueblos lost in a thrilling CIF-Southern Section Division 2 boys lacrosse final 8-7 to San Clemente.

DP entered the championship game with a 21-0 record which included a 7-5 victory over San Clemente on April 11.

But the Tritons got their revenge by winning this back and forth title game at Fred Kelly Stadium.

“This one hurts,” said Chargers head coach Lucas Martinez. “The boys on this team put in so much work, sacrificed so much and went through such a long road to get to this point…to lose at the end is a gut punch. Credit to San Clemente, they are a heck of a team and they out fought us for the title. But I told the boys: I’m so proud of them, both as a team and as individuals. The way they all worked to improve themselves, the way they lifted each other up, the way they fought and pushed themselves over the last 4 years to bring this program to this point is something I will always remember and always be grateful for. I’m so proud to be their coach and to have gone on this journey with them.”

Dos Pueblos never led but it was tight all the way.

The Chargers trailed 2-1 after the first quarter and 5-3 at halftime.

DP entered the fourth quarter down 7-6.

Koa Birchim led Dos Pueblos with 3 goals while Jack Finneran and Gus Miller had two goals apiece.

Senior goalie Danny Perez made 12 saves.

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Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (36-17, 16-14 Big West) played out a dramatic regular-season finale against Cal State Bakersfield (18-38, 9-21 Big West) on Saturday, a back-and-forth game with 25 total runs scored. But, when the see-saw came to a stop, it was the Gauchos who were down, losing 13-12. Regardless, Santa Barbara will continue on to play in The Big West Championship, taking on either UC San Diego or Hawai’i as the No. 5 seed in Wednesday’s play-in game.

HOW IT HAPPENEDPrior to the game, UC Santa Barbara honored 10 graduating members of their program: interns and student managers Devon Kost, Noah Lyons, Justin Han and Isaac Shinbrot as well as six graduating student-athletes Elliot Gallegos, Isaac Kim, Hayden Hattenbach, Jack Holman, Reiss Calvin and LeTrey McCollum. When the game got underway, the pendulum swung the Gauchos’ way first, with starting pitcher Calvin Proskey retiring the side in order in the top of the first and Kim hitting a line-drive opposite-field home run in the bottom half.

But the pendulum swung right back the other way in the top of the second, when the Roadrunners took their first lead of the day with a two-out, two-RBI single. The lead lasted a whole two thirds of an inning. In the bottom of the second, Xavier Esquer was hit by a pitch to spark a two-out rally, with Cole Kosciusko’s single up the middle putting Gauchos on the corners. Corey Nunez tied the game with an RBI single, and after McCollum was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Holman cashed in on some Senior Day luck. The lefty popped an 0-2 pitch up toward left center, but the wind pushed it into the one spot no Roadrunner could reach, giving the Gauchos’ slugger a three-RBI double and Santa Barbara a 5-2 lead.

A solo homer to lead off the top of the third brought Bakersfield back within two, but then the score sat at 5-3 until the top of the fifth, when the pendulum made another big swing. The first five Roadrunners of the inning reached base, with an RBI single plating a run and an RBI error tying the game. They went on to re-take the lead, 7-5, on a sacrifice fly and a double steal with runners on the corners, where the throw down to second sailed into center field.

It took until the bottom of the sixth for the pendulum to swing again, with another Senior Day moment bringing it back to Santa Barbara’s side. After Rowan Kelly led off with a double, Esquer was hit by another pitch, and the two Gauchos each moved up 90 feet on a failed pick-off throw. Nunez walked, then McCollum was hit by a pitch to force home a run. With the bases still loaded, Holman hit a drive to straightaway center field, clearing the wall for a grand slam, giving Santa Barbara a 10-7 lead.

The Gauchos held that lead until the top of the eighth, when everything seemed to go wrong. Bakersfield pinch hit for two of their first three hitters that inning, and both substitutes smacked singles, the latter scoring a run. After a sacrifice bunt moved ‘Runners to second and third, a strikeout put Santa Barbara one out away from getting out of the inning with their lead intact, but that out did not come for some time. A two-RBI single tied the game, and since the batter was able to advance to second on the play, another single scored him to put the visitors up, 11-10. A double into left center made it 12-10 before the Gauchos could get out of it, stranding two runners in scoring position. Bakersfield added another run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth, meaning Santa Barbara headed into their final at-bats needing three runs to prolong the game. They would get two of them.

Kim singled to start the inning, then Nate Vargas was hit by a pitch. A walk to Jonathan Mendez loaded the bases, and Kelly’s fielder’s choice groundout got a run on the board for the Gauchos. Esquer was hit by a pitch yet again to re-load the bases, and again a fielder’s choice grounder got a run home, this time Kosciusko picking up the RBI. That left the Gauchos with runners on the corners and two outs, but they were not able to get that tying run the last 90 feet to home.

BY THE NUMBERSSaturday’s loss snaps a 20-game winning streak against Cal State Bakersfield, which had dated back to 2017. The Gauchos’ longest active win streak against a Big West opponent is now eight, against UC Riverside.Despite the loss, Holman had one of, if not his best game as a Gaucho on Saturday, racking up a career-high seven RBIs in the game. The last Santa Barbara player to plate seven or more runs in a game was Jonah Sebring, who brought home nine against UC Riverside on May 24, 2024.Esquer was another outlier on the stat sheet on Saturday, being hit by four pitches in the game. He is the first Gaucho to be plunked that many times in a single game since at least 2011, which is as far back as UC Santa Barbara individual hit-by-pitch records for single games go.Esquer is now one painful trip to first away from tying the Gauchos’ single-season hit-by-pitch record of 24, set by Andrew Calica in 2015.McCollum was hit by three pitches himself on Saturday, which was the previous single-game high, with Justin Trimble, Broc Mortensen (twice), Eric Yang and Calica all having worn a trio of pitches in a single game.As a team, the Gauchos were hit by eight pitches on Saturday, the most in a single game since 2016, when they were plunked eight times in a March 5 meeting with Oregon. With 101 hit-by-pitches in 2025, the Gauchos are one away from tying the team record for HBP in a season of 102, set in 2021.

UP NEXTSanta Barbara is off to The Big West Championship, where they await the winner of Sunday’s game between UC San Diego and Hawai’i in Manoa. The Gauchos will be the No. 5 seed, the away team in the play-in game on Wednesday, May 21. Under Head Coach Andrew Checketts, the Gauchos are 14-7 when batting first in neutral-site games. First pitch in Wednesday’s play-in game is set for 12 noon from Goodwin Field in Fullerton. Tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).

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