RIVERSIDE, Calif. (May 2, 2023) — Broc Mortensen hit his 41st career home run as part of a four-run eighth inning Tuesday night, but UC Santa Barbara's (28-13) late rally was not enough and the Gauchos fell to California Baptist (24-21) by a score of 6-4. Mortensen is now one away from tying Santa Barbara's career home run record of 42, set by Matt Wilkerson from 2002-2005.

HOW IT HAPPENED
It took until the eighth inning for Santa Barbara to get on the board, and they had been trailing for every one of those innings but the first. Free bases hurt the Gauchos in the bottom of the first, as a walk and a two-out hit by pitch helped the Lancers load the bases. Santa Barbara was one strike away from escaping the jam, but a two-out double down the right field line scored CBU's first two runs, then a single into left field scored two more, making it 4-0 after just one inning.

Lead-off extra base hits in the second and third helped the Lancers plate solitary runs in each of those innings, giving them a 6-0 lead and chasing Gaucho starter Michael Rice from the game. But from there, Santa Barbara's bullpen did its job, not allowing any more runs. Alex Schrier pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, then Reed Moring relieved him and went 2 2/3 scoreless, allowing just one hit. Moring worked out of a couple tough spots too, leaving the bases loaded in the sixth, then stranding Lancers on third in both the seventh and eighth innings.

But as much as the Gaucho bullpen was frustrating Lancer hitters, the CBU pitching staff was doing the same to Santa Barbara. The Gauchos got their lead-off batter aboard in every inning from the third through the eighth, but only brought him around once. In the third, a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play proved costly, especially since the next batter up doubled down the line in left. It would have scored a run, if the Gauchos' lead runner hadn't been caught stealing. Double plays ended the Santa Barbara half of the fourth and sixth innings, and a twin killing erased the Gauchos' lead-off runner in the seventh.

Santa Barbara finally broke through in the eighth, which Jared Sundstrom led off by singling to left. Mortensen followed him and got the Gauchos on the board with an opposite field home run to left center, his 10th homer of the season. Aaron Parker kept the rally going with a single, then took second base on a wild pitch. Jonah Sebring's hit to right center brought home Parker, and Sebring's hustle earned him a double on the play. After a couple fly outs, the Gauchos scored again, with Ivan Brethowr's single to left moving Sebring to third and LeTrey McCollum's base hit to right driving Sebring home to make it 6-4 Lancers.

After a two-out walk loaded the bases for Santa Barbara, CBU finally shut down the rally, getting out of the eighth, then setting the Gauchos down in order in the ninth.

ON THE STAT SHEET
• Ivan Brethowr, who came into Tuesday night's game with 12 walks on the season, earned a base on balls in each of his first three plate appearances, then knocked a single on his fourth to finish 1-for-1 on the evening. His three walks are the most in one game by a Gaucho this season.
• Broc Mortensen added a pair of hits to his two-run homer on Tuesday, finishing the night a team-best 3-for-5 at the plate. Aaron Parker and Jared Sundstrom also had multi-hit games, each going 2-for-5 with a double.
• Reed Moring has come out of the bullpen in his last four appearances now. The freshman has allowed just one run over his last three outings — a total of 8 relief innings.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will remain in Riverside, as they are set to play UC Riverside in a three-game series this weekend. First pitch times from the Riverside Sports Complex are 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with the series finale to start at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio broadcast available on ucsbgauchos.com.