SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (April 29, 2023) — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (27-12, 12-5 Big West) had their offense rolling on Saturday night, scoring in five of the eight innings they came to bat en route to a dominant, 11-2 win over UC Davis (14-24, 5-12 Big West). The Gauchos had three multi-run innings in the game — a three-run first, a two-run third, and a four-run seventh — while adding solitary scores in the second and eighth. On the mound, Hudson Barrett worked his longest collegiate outing, 6 1/3 innings, to earn the win, with Carter Benbrook and Alex Schrier locking the game down out of the bullpen.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Santa Barbara was in control from the very first inning on Saturday, with the first three Gaucho hitters reaching. Zander Darby got aboard thanks to an error, then Jared Sundstrom singled on the first pitch he saw, and Broc Mortensen drove Darby in with a double to the left center gap. Aaron Parker brought Sundstrom and Mortensen both home with a line drive back up the middle to put up Santa Barbara's first crooked number of the night. After a shutdown top of the second from Barrett, the Gauchos padded their lead in the bottom half of the inning, with Jonah Sebring stealing second before a double from Darby brought him the rest of the way around and made it 4-0.

The Aggies got a run back in the top of the third, but Santa Barbara put up another crooked number in their half of the inning with a two-out rally. Christian Kirtley sparked it with a double down the line, then consecutive singles from Corey Nunez and LeTrey McCollum brought Kirtley home 90 feet at a time. That chased Davis' starter, and Sebring worked a walk against the Aggie reliever to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed Nunez to scamper home from third, putting the home team up, 6-1.

There would be no runs from either team until the sixth, as Barrett was back in his groove after surrendering a run in the third. The Gauchos' true freshman lefty had worked around trouble in the first but set the Aggies down in order in the second, and he faced the minimum in the fourth, walking a batter but picking him off at first. A couple strikeouts and a caught stealing helped him get around two walks in the fifth, but Davis finally got to Barrett again in the sixth. Three singles in the inning scored a run, but Barrett stranded a pair of Aggies to limit the damage. He got one out in the seventh before his day ended.

Benbrook relieved his fellow lefty and set down the next two Davis hitters, and after the seventh-inning stretch, the Gaucho offense essentially removed all doubt about the result. Two of the first three Santa Barbara batters were hit by pitches, one on either side of a single from Nunez, loading the bases for Sebring. His single moved everyone up 90 feet for the first run of the inning, and the second came on a one-out wild pitch to Sundstrom. The Gauchos' center fielder walked to reload the bases, and Mortensen's ensuing double, his second of the day, put Santa Barbara into double digits, up 10-2. Zander Darby added the 11th run with an RBI single in the eighth, and Alex Schrier pitched a perfect ninth to wrap up the game and the series win.

ON THE STAT SHEET
• Five different Gauchos, including the top three in the lineup — Zander Darby, Jared Sundstrom, Broc Mortensen, Corey Nunez, and Jonah Sebring — each recorded two hits on Saturday, with both of Mortensen's going for extra bases.
• Hudson Barrett recorded his first career quality start on Saturday, working 6 1/3 innings and allowing two earned runs. He gave up six hits and five walks, while striking out seven Aggies.
• The Gaucho defense got outs on the basepaths in nearly every imaginable way Saturday evening. Broc Mortensen provided an outfield assist in the third, nailing a runner trying to tag up on a fly ball, Hudson Barrett picked a runner off at first in the fourth, and Aaron Parker caught a would-be base thief in the fifth.
• LeTrey McCollum's third-inning single extended his official hitting streak to five games, but he has hit in the last 25 games he has started

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will go for the sweep in the series finale Sunday afternoon, April 30 at 1:05 p.m. As with all Saturday and Sunday home games this baseball season, children ages 12 and under will receive free admission to the game. For fans who cannot make it to the ballpark, the game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio broadcast available on ucsbgauchos.com.