Four Gauchos hit a total of six home runs as UCSB Baseball (5-2) won both games of their Saturday doubleheader to complete their first-ever series sweep of the No. 20 Oregon Ducks (4-3) in Eugene.
UCSB owned the first game 10-0 behind multi-homer games from Jared Sundstrom and Aaron Parker, then took the second game 4-1 with another long ball, this time off the bat of Justin Trimble, making the difference. Gaucho pitchers were lights-out all day, with Matt Ager and Tyler Bremner combining to blank the Ducks in game one and Reed Moring, Hudson Barrett, and Sam Whiting keeping the Oregon offense quiet in game two. Ager and Moring each picked up their first wins of the season, with Bremner and Whiting each earning saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UCSB scored 10 runs in Saturday’s first game, but they would have won with just one, because Ager and Bremner were absolutely dealing. Ager took the first six innings, giving up only two hits. He walked three Ducks but struck out nine. When he was done, Bremner came in and struck out the first five batters he faced on his way to a near-perfect afternoon. The freshman finished with seven strikeouts to no walks and no hits in three innings.
Not to be out-done by their pitchers, the Gaucho hitters caught fire in the morning game, hammering five home runs. Parker started and ended the party, hitting his first long ball of the season in the second inning and his second of the game in the eighth. Parker finished with a team-high three RBI, adding a run-scoring single in the fourth to his two solo shots. Sundstrom also launched a pair of big flies Saturday morning, hitting his first in the fourth and his second in the eighth. That eighth inning included three UCSB home runs, with Christian Kirtley’s first of the year preceding Sundstrom’s and Parker’s. All five homers Saturday morning were solo shots, with the Gauchos’ other five runs coming by way of Parker’s RBI single, a throwing error, a two-run Corey Nunez single, and a balk.
The run-fest continued into the early stages of the second game, with Zander Darby’s sacrifice fly giving the Gauchos a second-inning lead before Trimble hit the sixth Santa Barbara home run of the day, driving in two more in the fourth. Those two would prove to be the decisive runs, as Oregon got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, but Sundstrom racked up his third RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to provide some insurance in the top of the ninth inning.
On the mound as at the plate, Moring kept the pitching party rolling Saturday afternoon. The freshman retired the first six Ducks he saw, and bounced back from a lead-off double in the third by sitting down the side in order again. Moring did give up a run on another double in the fourth, but responded by striking out the next two batters. After a smooth fifth, he got out of the sixth thanks to a funky, 6-3-4 double play, and his outing extended two-thirds of the way through the seventh before Barrett stepped in to relieve him.
Barrett allowed three baserunners but no scores in his two innings of work, striking out five. Two of those K’s came with a runner on third in the bottom of the eighth, ending the threat. After giving up his second hit of the day in the ninth, Barrett relinquished final-out duties to Whiting, who induced a fly out to end the game.
ON THE STAT SHEET
– The Gauchos’ three-home run eighth inning in game one is their first time hitting three homers in an inning since May 23, 2009.
– Parker and Sundstrom join Darby on the list of Gauchos to homer twice in a game at Oregon; they also have the first two multi-homer games for UCSB this season.
– UCSB’s five homers in game one is not a program record; the Gauchos once hit five home runs in a single inning against New Mexico State in 1992 and hit seven homers in a game, also against New Mexico State, in 1996.
– Nunez must not be overlooked amongst all the Gaucho homers. UCSB’s freshman shortstop hit .600 on the weekend in Eugene with three walks and a pair of RBI. He now leads the team in average (.478) and OBP (.571) on the season.
• Ager worked his second quality start of the season on Saturday, striking out nine batters to bring his season total to a team-high 19. Barrett pushed his season total up to nine K’s to lead the Gaucho bullpen.
UP NEXT
UCSB is set to finally open their home slate next weekend, when they will welcome Xavier to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for a three-game series March 3-5. First pitch times are set for 5:05 p.m. Friday, 4:05 p.m. Saturday, and 1:05 p.m. Sunday. As with all Saturday and Sunday home games this season, children ages 12 and under will receive free admission to the final two games of the series against the Musketeers. For fans who cannot make it to the ballpark, all three games will be live on ESPN+
Eric Boose is assistant director of athletic communications at UCSB.
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