EUGENE, Ore. — The trip to Eugene has become ever so familiar for the No. 24 UC Santa Barbara Baseball team, as the Gauchos will visit the Oregon Ducks for a third consecutive season this weekend, playing a three-game set at PK Park, March 1, 2 and 3. The Gauchos and Ducks have played 11 games over the last three seasons, with Santa Barbara winning each of the last five. That streak includes a three-game sweep the Gauchos pulled off last season.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
First pitch times are set for 4:05 p.m. Friday, 2:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday from PK Park in Eugene. All three games will be streamed live for free on pac-12.com, with an audio broadcast and live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos lost their first mid-week contest of the season in heartbreaking fashion on Tuesday, giving up six runs in the bottom of the ninth and falling, 10-9, at Pepperdine. Santa Barbara's offense kept on rolling, with Brendan Durfee, Zander Darby and Jessada Brown each hitting home runs in the game. Tyler Bremner was the Gauchos' best pitcher on Tuesday, delivering three scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Santa Barbara and Oregon's series dates all the way back to the 1960s, but most of the Gauchos' and Ducks' meetings are far more recent history. 17 of their 19 matchups have come since Andrew Checketts took the helm in Santa Barbara, and the teams have met in each of the last three seasons. The Gauchos have won five straight games at PK Park, taking the last two of a four-game series in 2022 and sweeping the three-game set in 2023.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
Santa Barbara's sweep of the Ducks was arguably their best performance of 2023, and it displayed all of the typical strengths of Gaucho baseball. Across the three games last year, Santa Barbara hit eight home runs, stole 15 bases and out-scored Oregon, 20-3. On the mound, Gaucho pitchers struck out 45 Ducks while holding them to a team batting average of just .178.
 
This year, Santa Barbara's offense has relied on that power-speed combination again, and the Gauchos have been one of the nation's top teams on the basepaths through the first two weeks of the season. Santa Barbara ranks 14th in Division I, averaging 2.57 stolen bases per game, and their 18 total steals rank 18th nationally. Five Gauchos — Ivan Brethowr, Reiss Calvin, Nick Oakley, LeTrey McCollum and Jonah Sebring — have multiple steals without being caught. Brethowr leads the team with five stolen bags. In the power department, it is Zander Darby leading the way. Santa Barbara's third baseman has four long balls on the year, which has him ranked 30th nationally. As a team, the Gauchos rank 36th in Division I, averaging 1.71 home runs per game.
On the mound, Gaucho pitchers have excelled at limiting hits. Santa Barbara's pitching staff is allowing just 6.34 hits per nine innings this season, the 16th best rate in the country.
 
Head Coach Andrew Checketts expects to start the same rotation he deployed in last weekend's series at Sacramento State, with 2023 All-American Matt Ager taking the mound on Friday. Ager has not been his dominant self yet this season, though only five of the eight runs he has allowed were earned. The junior right-hander comes into the series with a 5.40 ERA in just 8 1/3 innings of work, but PK Park was th site of his breakout performance in 2023, when he pitched six shutout frames with nine strikeouts.
 
Saturday starter Mike Gutierrez and Sunday starter Ryan Gallagher each turned in strong performances last weekend. Both men earned wins, with Gutierrez (six innings, one earned run) posting the Gauchos' first quality start of the season. Gallagher started Santa Barbara's first shutout of the year the next day.
 
SCOUTING THE DUCKS
Oregon won the Pac-12 Championship and hosted an NCAA Super Regional in 2023, and they will be contenders to do the same again this year. The Ducks come into the weekend at 6-1, off the back of a four-game sweep of Lafayette. Oregon's only loss in 2024 was an 11-7 defeat to then-No. 18 Texas Tech at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, in which Ducks' starter Turner Spoljaric surrendered five runs in a six-run second inning for the Red Raiders. Spoljaric is not scheduled to start this weekend.
 
The Ducks are expecting to start RJ Gordon, Grayson Grinsell and Kevin Seitter in that order against the Gauchos. Gordon comes in with a 2.61 ERA and a 1-0 record, having earned the win in a one-run, six-inning performance against Lafayette last Friday. He started the season opener against Oklahoma as well, going 4 1/3 innings and giving up two runs. The lefty Grinsell relieved Gordon against the Sooners and made his first start of the season last Saturday. His 1.29 ERA is a team-best, and he has only allowed two hits in seven innings of work while striking out 11. Seitter is the only Duck with more K's, a team-high 13 accumulated in 10 innings of work across two starts. He comes into the weekend with a 4.50 ERA, having given up a team-high two homers.
 
On offense, the Ducks have three players batting .400 or better, and a total of six with a batting average over .300. Outfielder Jeffery Heard is batting .500 through seven games, and infielder Carter Garate (also an everyday starter) is just behind him, hitting .478. Heard's .893 slugging percentage leads the team, as does Garate's .613 on-base percentage.
 
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara will finally play at home next week, taking on a pair of Big East foes. The Gauchos are set to meet Villanova on Tuesday, March 5 before welcoming UConn to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for a three-game set, March 8-10.