HONOLULU (May 26, 2023) — Christian Kirtley hit his 14th home run of the season on Friday night, but the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (35-19, 18-11 Big West) fell, 8-5, to Hawai'i (28-20, 17-12 Big West) in the second game of the three-game series. With the loss and Cal State Fullerton's win over Cal Poly earlier in the day, the Titans earned The Big West's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, meaning if the Gauchos are to get in, they will have to do so as an at-large selection.

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was another good start on Friday as Santa Barbara scored first again, this time putting three runs on the board in the top of the first. Jared Sundstrom reached on an error to lead off the game, then Brethowr singled and Kirtley drove everybody home with an opposite-field home run over the right field fence, making it 3-0 Gauchos.

Hudson Barrett worked around some traffic on the basepaths in the bottom of the first but got out of the inning unscathed, stranding the bases loaded with his third strikeout of the inning. He would not be so lucky in the second, as the Rainbow Warriors got one run back in that inning, then did the same in the bottom of the third, cutting the Gauchos' lead to 3-2.

The game turned in the bottom of the fourth inning, with the hosts putting up two runs — only one of which was earned — to take the lead. Santa Barbara threatened to retake the lead in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with only one out, but all three Gauchos were left stranded. Then, Hawai'i scored four runs in the bottom half of the inning to break the game open.

Jared Sundstrom got one of those runs back in the top of the seventh, leading off the inning with a triple before scoring on a wild pitch, then got another run back in the top of the ninth. The Gaucho center fielder reached on an error to start Santa Barbara's final frame, and Brethowr's double put two in scoring position. Aaron Parker drove home Sundstrom on an RBI groundout, but there would be no further rally for the Gauchos.

ON THE STAT SHEET
• Jared Sundstrom's seventh-inning triple was his first of the season. On the theme of threes, Sundstrom scored a trio of runs on Friday.
• Ivan Brethowr led the Gauchos with two hits on the evening, one of which was a double. He also scored one of UC Santa Barbara's five runs.
• Christian Kirtley's first-inning home run was his 14th of the season, one off the team lead. He continues to build on a career-best home run total this season, having never hit more than 11 in a year prior to 2023.
• Sam Whiting deserves recognition for his work out of the bullpen, pitching the final 2 2/3 innings of Friday's game without allowing a run. He gave up just two hits and one walk, while striking out five.

UP NEXT
The regular-season finale is on deck for UC Santa Barbara, as they will conclude this series against Hawai'i on Saturday, May 27 in Honolulu. First pitch is set for 9:35 p.m. Pacific, live on ESPN+. Live stats and an audio broadcast will be available on ucsbgauchos.com.