The 2024 Big West champion UCSB Gauchos defeated the UC Riverside Highlanders by a score of 6-3 on Saturday at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium to finish the season a perfect 25-0 at home.
The win marked the first time in program history the Gauchos have gone an entire season undefeated at home.
“I’m really proud of these guys. Talk about an accomplishment,” UCSB head coach Andrew Checketts said. “We came back from Irvine with our tails between our legs. On [that] Monday we played wiffle ball so we could remember what it was like to play baseball and enjoy it.
“Pretty amazing response to win 21 straight conference games and go undefeated in the regular season.”
The win also gives UCSB a strong likelihood of hosting a Regional, the first portion of the NCAA baseball postseason tournament.
With the NCAA announcing the 16 Regional hosts Sunday evening and the remaining 48 postseason teams Monday morning, it is believed that a win on Saturday would secure the Gauchos hosting rights while a loss would have dropped them out of the top 16.
“My personal opinion, at this point, is that it feels more like a slam dunk,” Checketts said.
Saturday’s game featured much less scoring than the first two games of the series, and the game was tied at 2-2 as late as the seventh inning.
A four-run inning from the Gauchos in the bottom of the seventh inning gave them a lead they never surrendered.
Tyler Bremner started on the mound for UCSB, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk through five innings.
Cole Tryba pitched two scoreless innings in relief en route to picking up Saturday’s win and Jackson Flora contributed a scoreless inning as well. Matt Ager pitched the ninth inning and allowed one run.
Gaucho pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts on Saturday.
Matthew Flores started on the mound for the Highlanders, allowing two runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out five through six innings.
After a bumpy first inning, Flores shut down the Gauchos in a way none of his UC Riverside teammates managed to replicate this weekend.
Alfredo Capacete II pitched ⅔ of an inning and allowed four runs, picking up Sunday’s loss. Tyler Gebb pitched the final 1 ⅓ innings for UC Riverside scorelessly.
The Gauchos jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run double from Aaron Parker to score Ivan Brewthowr and Zander Darby, who had walked.
The Highlanders got one run back to halve UCSB’s lead in the fourth inning when Andrew Rivas singled into left field to score Rudy Rodriguez from second base.
Cole Koniarsky tied the game at two in the fifth inning with a solo home run over the left-field wall.
The Gauchos regained the lead with four runs in the seventh inning and held on for the rest of the game.
Jonathan Mendez led off the seventh with a single to left field, and advanced to third base on Darby’s single into right field.
With runners at the corners and one out, Brown laid a bunt down the first base side. Capacete fielded the ball from the pitcher’s mound and threw to Nick Poss behind the plate but not in time to tag Mendez out, giving the Gauchos the lead.
Nick Oakley, the senior from Santa Barbara High School who was honored before the game, singled into left field to score Darby from second base and advance Brown to second base.
“This is the only program that gave me a chance to play college baseball,” Oakley said, reflecting on his four years at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. “So it means a lot to play in front of my friends and family and wear this uniform.”
“[Oakley] has really grown into that [leadership] role. He’s always had the instincts and the desire to want to do it,” Checketts said. “He’s been able to perform [this year] and I feel like that’s allowed him to feel worthy of saying what needs to be said.
Jonah Sebring then beat out a throw from Zachary Chamizo on a ground ball up the middle for an infield single.
Brown rounded third and headed straight for home without applying the brakes and beat the relay throw from Zach Tallerman.
Justin Trimble was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and LeTrey McCollum drew a four-pitch walk to bring Oakley home and give UCSB a 6-2 lead.
Tallerman’s solo home run to left field in the ninth inning proved to be nothing more than a consolation run as UCSB closed the game out to win 6-3.
The Gauchos will learn whether or not they will host their Regional on Sunday night, and will learn the other three teams in their Regional on Monday morning.