SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara baseball team used a six-run sixth inning to slide past UTRGV 7-2 on Saturday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, clinching the team's third straight series win.

Junior right fielder Michael McAdoo provided the big blow of that game-winning rally for UCSB (13-13-1), crushing a three-run homer to right-center to make it 4-0. Junior left fielder Sam Cohen followed up two batters later with a solo shot off the right field foul pole – his team-leading fifth homer this season – before the Gauchos capped the scoring with back-to-back doubles from sophomore catcher Eric Yang and freshman third baseman Jason Willow. 

All of those runs came off UTRGV (16-15) starter Jorge Flores, who had been cruising through the first five innings of the game, facing the minimum over that timeframe and allowing just one hit, a fourth inning single to junior DH Clay Fisher. 

Flores looked like a completely different pitcher from the very start of the sixth, as he walked leadoff batter Marcos Castanon before hitting nine-hitter Tevin Mitchell to give UCSB another free baserunner. Fisher opened the scoring moments later with a line shot up the middle as part of a 3-4, two-RBI day. 

The six-spot turned out to be plenty enough for UCSB sophomore right-hander Chris Lincoln, who continued his seamless transition into the rotation with a fourth consecutive solid start. 

The Moreno Valley, Calif. native surrendered just four hits and one earned run in his 6 1/3 innings of work. He held the Vaqueros off the board for his first six innings and only allowed one runner to reach second during that span. He went three-up, three-down in three of those frames as well. With his pitch count rising, he lost a little command in the seventh inning, walking a pair before surrendering a run on an RBI single from Ivan Estrella.

Still, with the solid day he has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in all four of his starts since moving from the bullpen into the weekend rotation. As a whole, UCSB's weekend starters have allowed two earned or fewer in 10 straight games dating back to Mar. 17. 

Freshman righty Chris Troye and junior righty Alex Patterson held UTRGV at bay the rest of the way, with Patterson retiring all four batters he faced.

The Gauchos go for their second sweep of the season on Sunday afternoon at 1;00 p.m. behind the right arm of senior Stevie Ledesma (2-1, 2.55 ERA), who will face off against UTRGV right-hander Trevelle Hill (3-2, 4.74 ERA).