LA JOLLA, Calif. (April 22, 2023) — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (24-12, 9-5 Big West) secured their first conference series win since March in emphatic fashion Saturday afternoon, scoring five runs in the first inning, then piling on five more before the seventh to take a 10-3 win over UC San Diego (22-14, 11-6 Big West). Corey Nunez hit his first collegiate home run, with Jonah Sebring and John Newman, Jr. adding long balls of their own in the game. Hudson Barrett worked five scoreless innings to earn the win in his first collegiate start.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos wasted no time getting going Saturday afternoon, with the first five batters reaching base safely. Zander Darby led off the game with a single, then Josh Williams and Justin Trimble were both hit by pitches to load the bases. Broc Mortensen doubled to right center to score two, then Christian Kirtley worked a walk to load the bases back up. LeTrey McCollum worked a four-pitch, one-out walk to make it 3-0 Gauchos, then Nunez collected his first two RBI with a two-out single through the left side.

With a five-run lead, Hudson Barrett took the mound for his first collegiate start and promptly shut down the Tritons, retiring the first six hitters he faced. The freshman lefty then worked himself out of trouble in the third, escaping a bases-loaded, two-out jam with one of his eight strikeouts on the day. He struck out two more in the fourth, then stranded Tritons on first and third to end the fifth inning.

By the time Barrett left the game, the Gaucho offense had added a pair of runs to the lead, both on lead-off home runs. Sebring replaced Trimble to start the second inning and promptly crushed his second home run of the season, continuing his eventful weekend. Then, to lead off the top of the fifth, Nunez got all of a 3-1 pitch and launched it over the fence in left center for his first collegiate home run.

Santa Barbara padded their lead in the top of the sixth, scoring three runs in the frame. McCollum's speed down the line turned a soft grounder up the middle into an infield single, then Newman drove him home in the best way, mashing a two-run home run off the top of the scoreboard in right field. Darby reached on a two-out single, then took second on a wild pitch. A Triton error on a grounder from Sundstrom allowed Darby to score, as the throw sailed wide of first base.

Up 10-0, Nick Welch relieved Barrett on the mound and worked a clean bottom of the sixth, but hit some trouble in the seventh. A walk and then four consecutive one-out singles plated three runs for UC San Diego before Michael Rice was able to induce a double play to get out of the inning. From there, though, it was smooth sailing for Rice, with only two more Tritons reaching safely — a walk in the eighth and a single in the ninth.

ON THE STAT SHEET
• With their three home runs Saturday afternoon, the Gauchos are the first team in The Big West to hit 60 home runs this season. No other team in the conference has more than 40.
• Hudson Barrett's final line from his first collegiate start reads: five innings pitched, zero runs allowed on three hits and two walks, with eight strikeouts. Barrett is now one punchout behind teammate Tyler Bremner for the most strikeouts by a Big West freshman (54 to Bremner's 55).
• The Gauchos sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning on Saturday. That includes Zander Darby batting twice and reaching base both times, with a hit and a walk, as well as Josh Willliams hitting and getting pinch hit for in the same inning. He was hit by a pitch his first time up, then replaced by Jared Sundstrom the second time around.
• Santa Barbara's lineup-related shenanigans were back on Saturday, with Head Coach Andrew Checketts penciling in Matt Ager as his starting center fielder and JD Callahan as his starting second baseman. Both were pinch-hit for at the first opportunity.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will look to complete the sweep in game three on Sunday, April 23. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. in La Jolla, and the game will be live on ESPN+, with live stats and an audio broadcast available through ucsbgauchos.com.