Box Score MALIBU, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team watched a lead disappear late against Pepperdine, as the Waves won Tuesday's game in walk-off fashion, 10-9. The Gauchos hit three home runs on the day but were defeated by a six-run ninth inning from Pepperdine, though two errors in the inning certainly did Santa Barbara no favors.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was all Gauchos early, with Santa Barbara taking the lead in the first inning. Reiss Calvin was hit by a pitch to lead off and scampered all the way around to third on an errant pick-off throw, meaning Zander Darby's groundout was enough to bring home a run. Brendan Durfee then doubled the lead with his second home run of the season, a solo shot over the scoreboard in right field.
 
The Gauchos did surrender a run in the bottom of the first, thanks in part to a similarly errant pick-off throw to first, but Santa Barbara reasserted its control of the game in the top of the third, capitalizing on Pepperdine mistakes. Darby led off the inning with a walk, then reached second on Ivan Brethowr's single. The Waves threw behind Darby and would have had him picked off, but the throw was low and Darby scrambled to third safely. LeTrey McCollum's single back up the middle drove Darby home and Brethowr to second, then another errant pick-off throw to second moved both Gauchos up 90 feet. Nick Oakley smacked a single back up the box and both men scored to make it 5-1 Santa Barbara.
 
Pepperdine got two runs back on a homer in the bottom of the fourth and both teams posted a single run in the fifth, but the Gauchos re-extended their lead in the following frames. Darby hit his fourth homer of the season, a line drive to the opposite field in the sixth, and Jessada Brown hammered a two-run shot to left in the top of the seventh.
 
Defensively, it was smooth sailing for Santa Barbara in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings with Tyler Bremner and Cole Tryba keeping the Waves off the board, but things went south fast in the bottom of the ninth. Calvin Proskey relieved Tryba to start the frame but gave up a walk and a single, ending his day. Jackson Flora relieved him but did not have any better of a time. An RBI double then a three-run homer turned the Gauchos' five-run cushion into just a one-run advantage before they could record an out. They had three straight chances to turn a double play and stop Pepperdine's momentum but could not complete any of them, committing two errors in the process. The second of those two errant throws allowed the tying run to score and the winning run to reach third.
 
After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Ryan Troye relieved Flora and got the second out of the inning with a strikeout, but he walked the next batter, forcing the winning run across the plate.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Reed Moring made his first start of the season in Tuesday's game; the sophomore righty worked four innings, allowing four runs on five hits with two walks, two hit batters and five strikeouts.
• Tyler Bremner was very effective out of the bullpen for the Gauchos, pitching the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, scattering two hits without allowing a run or issuing a walk and striking out four Waves.
• The first eight batters in Santa Barbara's order recorded a hit on Tuesday, with Jessada Brown going a team-best 2-for-3 at the plate with his first home run of the season and a game-high three RBI.
• Tuesday was the Gauchos' third three-homer game of the season. The last time Santa Barbara lost despite hitting three long balls was April 3, 2023, when they fell, 7-4, to Santa Clara.

 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos head to a 2023 NCAA Super Regional site for their next series, traveling to Oregon's PK Park for a three-game set against the Ducks, March 1-3. First pitch times from Eugene are set for 4:05 p.m. Friday, 2:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday. The games will be live streamed on pac-12.com, and an audio broadcast and live stats will be available through ucsbgauchos.com.