It was a homecoming of sorts for Kellan Montgomery, as the Dos Pueblos High product emerged victorious in his first home start for the UC Santa Barbara baseball team after transferring from Long Beach State in the offseason.
The Gauchos overcame a slow start offensively to defeat the University of Portland 6-2 and complete a three-game series sweep on Sunday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
“Pretty surreal. I’ve gotten to throw on this mound before, but not in a Gaucho jersey, so that was pretty awesome,” Montgomery said. “Definitely a full-circle moment after coming to the camps as a kid and growing up watching them play.”
With the victory, the Gauchos improved to 4-2 on the season after dropping two of three at highly touted Southern Mississippi to open the year.
Portland opened the scoring in the third inning, manufacturing a run with a leadoff walk, a bunt single, and a sacrifice fly to take a 1–0 lead. The Pilots’ starter, Will Labonte, kept Santa Barbara off balance through the early innings, and the Gauchos left the bases loaded twice before breaking through in the seventh.
“That kid who started for them had a really deceptive fastball up. We knew it was coming and couldn’t lay off it,” said UCSB coach Andrew Checketts. “We made him throw some pitches. We took some walks early, and that allowed us to get into the bullpen and do some work there.”
The UCSB rally began with a Rowan Kelly single to open the bottom of the seventh inning. The next two batters, Cade Goldstein and Max Stagg, were hit by pitches to load the bases. Nick Husovsky followed with a two-run single to give Santa Barbara a 2-1 lead. After another single reloaded the bases, Colin Beazizo added a sacrifice fly to extend the advantage to 3-1.
Montgomery continued his effective performance into the eighth inning and exited after allowing a two-out single that brought Portland within 3-2. Reliever AJ Krodel entered and ended the threat with a strikeout.
Checketts credited his team’s defense for supporting Montgomery, noting that the right-hander pitches to contact. Santa Barbara turned in several key defensive plays, including a caught stealing during a Portland hit-and-run attempt in the fourth inning.
Santa Barbara added three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Cade Goldstein was hit by a pitch to start the rally, and pinch hitter Jordan Marian delivered an RBI double to right-center field for his first collegiate hit. Husovsky followed with a two-run home run to the opposite field, extending the lead to 6-2.
Krodel retired the Pilots in order in the top of the ninth inning to earn the save.
The Gauchos next travel to face Loyola Marymount University on Tuesday at Page Stadium in Los Angeles before returning home for a three-game series against Utah next weekend.
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