Box Score HONOLULU (May 25, 2023) — UC Santa Barbara Baseball's trip to Hawaii got off to a rough start on Thursday night, as the Gauchos (35-18, 18-10 Big West) fell, 17-1, to Hawai'i (27-20, 16-12 Big West) in the opening game of a three-game series. Santa Barbara is now eliminated from The Big West Championship chase, but the Gauchos can still earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. To do so, Santa Barbara must win their final two games in Hawaii and have Cal State Fullerton lose both of their final two games at Cal Poly.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Things got off to a great start for the Gauchos in the top of the first inning, which they began by loading the bases with one out. Aaron Parker's RBI single scored Jared Sundstrom from third to put Santa Barbara in the lead, and although they left the bases loaded, Matt Ager set the Rainbow Warriors down in order in the bottom of the first to keep the momentum in the Gaucho dugout.
Santa Barbara loaded the bases again in the top of the second but were unable to bring home any more runs, and from there the game went downhill quickly. Hawai'i tied the game on a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second and scored five more runs in the frame to lead, 6-1. They added three more in the third, including another lead-off home run.
After JD Callahan, who had come on in relief to end the third inning, kept Hawai'i off the board in the fourth and fifth innings, the hosts got on the board again in the sixth, scoring five more runs in the inning. One of those runs was unearned. Three more Rainbow Warrior runs came across in the bottom of the eighth.
LeTrey McCollum and John Newman, Jr. started the top of the ninth with back-to-back singles, but they were left stranded after a double play and a game-ending strikeout.
ON THE STAT SHEET
• Aaron Parker led Santa Barbara with two hits on Thursday, driving in the Gauchos' only run.
• A total of 20 Gauchos — 14 hitters and six pitchers — appeared in Thursday night's game, with John Newman, Jr., Jessada Brown, and Josh Williams all coming in as defensive replacements in the seventh, while Justin Trimble entered an inning later. Leo Mosby made a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth.
UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara returns to the diamond on Friday, May 26 for the second game of this three-game series at Hawaii. First pitch is set for 9:35 p.m. Pacific time. The game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio broadcast available on ucsbgauchos.com.
