FULLERTON, Calif. (April 6, 2023) — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (19-7, 6-1 Big West) rolled into Goodwin Field and showcased all the qualities that make them the favorites to win The Big West this season, scoring 14 runs on 16 hits, including three homers, and allowing just three hits to Cal State Fullerton (14-10, 7-3 Big West), as the Gauchos took the series opener, 14-0, Thursday night. Nick Oakley provided two of the three Santa Barbara long balls for his first multi-homer game of his career, and Matt Ager was dominant in his 7 2/3 innings on the mound, striking out nine and walking just one, as he and Elliot Gallegos combined to shut out the Titans.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Ager's night got off to an unlucky start, as an error and a walk put the first two Titans on, but a strikeout and a pair of groundouts got him out of the inning. And from there, he was nearly untouchable. He set down the side in order in the second and did the same in the third, finishing it with back-to-back punchouts. He gave up a two-out triple in the fourth, and a two-out double in the fifth, but left both stranded. They would be the last two baserunners he allowed, as he set down the final nine Titans he faced in a row as he worked into the eighth inning, including snaring a line drive to end the sixth and striking out the side in the seventh.

Like their pitcher, the Gaucho hitters were on fire Thursday evening, scoring 10 of their 14 runs in the first three innings. In the top of the second, an error by the Fullerton first baseman kept the inning alive for Santa Barbara with two outs and two runners on, and Oakley immediately took advantage, hitting his second home run of the season to put the Gauchos up 3-0.

The offense erupted in the third, scoring seven runs, their most in an inning this season. It started with doubles by Ivan Brethowr and Christian Kirtley, putting runners at second and third for Jared Sundstrom, who crushed his team-leading eighth home run of the season on a line out to left to double the Gauchos' lead. Jonah Sebring followed Sundstrom's homer with a double, making it four straight extra-base hits to lead off the inning, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Corey Nunez drove Sebring home with the Gauchos' fifth straight hit. A one-out LeTrey McCollum single and a walk loaded the bases, but Fullerton was able to get their second out at home on a ground ball. However, a wild pitch to Brethowr allowed McCollum to scamper home, then Brethowr knocked a single through the right side for his second hit of the inning, putting the Gauchos into double figures.

Brethowr collected his second RBI of the night in the fifth inning on a groundout which brought Zander Darby in from third to make it 11-0, then the Gauchos collected their final three runs in the eighth. Kirtley led off the inning with his second double of the game, and Sundstrom drove him home with a single before Oakley bookended the scoring with his second home run of the evening, bringing home Sundstrom for RBIs four and five for the Santa Barbara High School grad.

Elliot Gallegos replaced Ager on the mound with two outs in the eighth inning and, after giving up a single to the first batter he faced, retired the next four Titans in order to wrap up the game.

ON THE STAT SHEET
• Matt Ager continues to be a workhorse on the mound, with his innings total up to 51 after Thursday's start. He also returns to the top of The Big West's strikeout list with 59 (22 looking, also a conference-best) on the season. His final line from Thursday was 7 2/3 innings pitched, zero runs on two hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts
• Nick Oakley is the fifth Gaucho to hit multiple home runs in a game this season, joining Ivan Brethowr, Aaron Parker, Jared Sundstrom (who has two such games), and John Newman, Jr. (who did it in Santa Barbara's last game)
• Speaking of multi-homer games, Santa Barbara has hit two or more home runs in each of their last six games, tallying 19 long balls in that stretch
• LeTrey McCollum and Ivan Brethowr each extended their hitting streaks on Thursday, to 13 and 11 games respectively. McCollum is batting .442/.547/.488 over the course of his streak, while Brethowr is batting .356/.408/.756 with five home runs in his 11-game stretch

UP NEXT
The Gauchos and Titans will be back at it tomorrow, Friday, April 7 at 6 p.m. for the second game of this three-game series. The game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio-only broadcast available through ucsbgauchos.com. Neither team has announced their starter for Friday's game yet.