Jackson Flora delivered a commanding performance on the mound, striking out 10 over seven innings to lead UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball to a 7-2 victory over Utah Utes baseball in the series opener at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
The right-hander allowed just one run and scattered a handful of hits, continuing his strong start to the season and improving the Gauchos to 6-2. Utah fell to 4-3.
While Flora set the tone, Santa Barbara’s offense provided its most complete showing of the young campaign. Cole Kosciusko and Rowan Kelly each collected two hits, and Nate Vargas launched his first home run of the season to cap a decisive four-run fifth inning.
Santa Barbara struck early, following a familiar script from Flora’s previous two starts by scoring in the first inning. Kelly opened the game with an infield single, and pressure on the basepaths forced a Utah error that put two runners aboard. After a pair of two-out walks, including one by Noah Karliner with the bases loaded, the Gauchos took a 1-0 lead without the benefit of a hit in the rally.
They added to the margin in the second. Kelly worked a two-out walk and advanced into scoring position before Kosciusko lifted a bloop double just inside the right-field line, driving in two runs for a 3-0 advantage.
With Flora in command, the early cushion looked more than sufficient. He retired the first six batters he faced and was aided by sharp defense behind him, including a leaping snag at third base to rob Utah of a potential extra-base hit in the third inning. Flora worked around scattered baserunners in the middle frames, using his strikeout pitch to extinguish Utah’s best threat in the fourth. After a walk and single helped the Utes plate their first run, Flora responded with back-to-back strikeouts to prevent further damage.
He yielded only two singles over his final three innings and closed his outing with a perfect seventh, finishing with 10 strikeouts and one earned run.
Santa Barbara broke the game open in the fifth. Kosciusko singled up the middle and Nick Husovsky doubled to put runners on second and third. A groundout by Jonathan Mendez and an RBI single from William Vasser extended the lead before Vargas delivered the decisive blow — a two-run homer deep down the right-field line that made it 7-1.
Reliever Van Froling surrendered a run in the eighth but retired the side in order in the ninth to secure the win.
The teams continue the series Saturday afternoon, with Santa Barbara set to send Nathan Aceves to the mound against Utah’s Payton Riske.
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