The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (13-2) ended its eight-game homestand in emphatic fashion on Tuesday night, running away with a 13-3 win over Saint Mary’s (10-6) in a game shortened to seven innings by the run rule.

Three different Gauchos — Jonathan Mendez, Cole Kosciusko and William Vasseur — each collected a pair of doubles, and Noah Karliner blasted his fourth home run of the season to lead the offensive outburst. Van Froling earned the win on the mound, and Stunner Gonzales pitched his first inning of the year as well.

Santa Barbara’s six doubles are the most they have hit in one game this season; the last time they collected that many was almost exactly a year ago: March 9, 2025 against CSUN.

That game featured nine total extra-base hits, two more than Tuesday’s contest, which were LeTrey McCollum’s triple and walk-off home run as he completed the first cycle by a Gaucho in 28 years. 

Josh Jannicelli picked up where he had left off last Tuesday to start the game, striking out the side to push his season K total to 17. In the bottom of the first, Karliner’s big blast saved the Gauchos some blushes after they nearly squandered Rowan Kelly’s leadoff single and steal of second base. 

Cade Goldstein had fouled out to a nice catch by the Gaels’ third baseman, and Kelly had been held at third on Kosciusko’s double to right center. With two outs, Karliner made sure Santa Barbara got runs out of the inning by launching a no-doubt home run down the left field line to make it 3-0.

Saint Mary’s did attempt to turn the game into a shootout, scratching across solitary runs in the second and third innings, but the Gauchos showed their offense was simply of a higher caliber this evening and broke the game wide open in the bottom of the third.

After Karliner’s one-out walk, Mendez’s double to left center made it 4-2, and Mendez quickly took third on a wild pitch. Colin Beazizo’s single therefore made it 5-2, and Vasseur’s double that tightroped the right field line scored Beazizo to make it 6-2.

Vasseur took third on a double steal, with catcher Nico Libed swiping second on the play. That extra 90 feet meant that Vasseur could come home on Kelly’s groundout to make it 7-2.

Froling entered in the top of the fourth to get the Gauchos out of a two-on, no-outs jam with a pair of strikeouts, then Raymond Olivas pulled the same trick in the top of the fifth, inducing a double play and a groundout to second to keep the door firmly shut.

Kelly picked up another RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, though Saint Mary’s would get that run back by way of a leadoff triple and RBI single in the sixth.

Libed threw out the latter of those Gael runners trying to take second, his second caught stealing of the night, before Chase Hoover took over on the mound and ended the inning without any further damage.

There was no controlling the damage the Gaucho bats did in the bottom of the sixth though. Kosciusko opened up the inning by punching a firm ground ball through the right side of the infield and hustling to second base, then Nick Husovsky singled to drive him home and make the score 9-3.

After Karliner’s second walk of the night, Mendez hit his second double, with Husovsky crossing the plate for run number 10. Vasseur kept the double party going with another one that just stayed fair down the right field line, bringing home runs 11 and 12.

Libed then continued his great night with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to plate lucky run number 13.

Gonzales put things to bed before the fans even got to stretch, striking out the first two batters he faced in the seventh before a lineout to left wrapped everything up.

With the Gauchos ahead by 10 and the Gaels having had seven innings worth of chances to bat, Santa Barbara got the win two frames early thanks to the NCAA’s run rule.

The Gauchos will hit the road for their next three games, continuing Big West play with a visit to UC Davis, March 13-15. First pitches from Dobbins Stadium in Davis are set for 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Santa Barbara’s next home game will be on March 20, when the Gauchos open a three-game series against Hawai’i at 4:35 p.m. from Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.