The UC Santa Barbara offense came to life as the Gauchos defeated No. 20-ranked Oregon, 8–2, in game two of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
The key hits with runners in scoring position that had eluded the Gauchos in the series opener—and for much of the past couple of weeks—finally came to fruition, leading to a satisfying win for the home team.
“We’ve been struggling offensively. I think we’re better than that,” said UCSB head coach Andrew Checketts. “I think our coaches have done a good job recruiting. We have better players than that.”
The Gauchos had dropped six of their last seven games entering Saturday’s contest, but a strong start by Nathan Aceves on the mound sparked a bounce-back effort as UCSB delivered one of its most complete performances of the season.
“Aceves set the tone for the day. When you have a heartbreaker like we did last night—1–0 going into the ninth—you’re frustrated,” Checketts said. “If the starter goes out there and isn’t good, that can carry over from the day before, no matter how much you talk about it. I thought (Aceves) did a really good job of not letting that happen and coming out and hitting the strike zone early.”
Cole Tryba came on in relief and was perfect over his 4⅓ innings on the mound, surrendering zero runs on no hits and no walks.
The dominant performance was a significant step for Tryba and the Gauchos, as injuries have limited his contributions so far this season.
“Coming back from injury two weeks ago, my stuff didn’t feel as good, but I still stuck to the process and stuck to my mentality,” Tryba said. “That’s what really helped me today. It felt really good.”
Oregon miscues helped the Gauchos get on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. Corey Nunez was hit by a pitch with two outs, and second baseman Ryan Severns extended the inning with a single to center field.
Rowan Kelley followed with a slow tapper to second base, and a rushed throw ended up in the Oregon dugout, bringing home Nunez. Severns later scored on an Oregon wild pitch, extending the UCSB lead to 2–0.
After retiring the first two batters in the top of the fifth inning, Aceves began to run out of gas around the 90-pitch mark and surrendered four consecutive hits that resulted in two Oregon runs.
However, Tryba came on in relief and struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches to end the inning.
“My plan was attack, attack, attack,” Tryba said. “Just getting in there early, trusting the process, trusting my stuff—that’s really just it.”
The Gauchos retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Kelley led off the inning with a ground-rule double. After Oregon retired the next two batters, Xavier Esquer broke the tie with a crucial two-out single to left field that scored Kelley and gave UCSB a 3–2 lead.
Colin Beazizo followed with a double that scored Esquer, increasing the UCSB lead to 4–2.
UCSB (16–8 overall, 5–4 Big West Conference) added four insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Beazizo led off the inning with a single and stole second, and Nunez brought him home with a single up the middle. Kelley added a hit up the middle to drive in two more runs, and Max Staff brought home the final run of the game by drawing a walk with the bases loaded.
The series finale is set for Sunday, March 29, beginning at 12:05 p.m.
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