SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team returns to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium this weekend, hosting San Jose State and California Baptist in what is now a three-game homestand. Due to rain in the forecast, the Gauchos will now play just two games against the Spartans, at 4:05 p.m. Thursday and 11:05 a.m. Friday. Santa Barbara's game against the Lancers on Tuesday remains unchanged.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
The Gauchos will open their series against San Jose State on Thursday, March 28, with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. The second game of the now-two-game set will begin at 11:05 a.m. on Friday, March 29, as the teams will attempt to beat the rain forecast to arrive later that afternoon. Santa Barbara will then welcome California Baptist to town on Tuesday, April 2, with first pitch at 4:35 p.m.
 
All three games of the homestand will be live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio broadcast available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos will be looking to bounce back after a frustrating week on the road, where they dropped two out of three games at Cal Poly and an extra-innings slugfest at UCLA on Tuesday. Bright spots from Tuesday's game in Los Angeles include a first career four-hit night for Jonathan Mendez, plus three-hit performances from Aaron Parker, Zander Darby and Brendan Durfee as Santa Barbara's key bats stayed hot. Frank Camarillo had something of a coming out party on the mound, striking out six hitters before a pair of solo homers chased him from the game.
 
SERIES HISTORIES
The Gauchos and Spartans have met 102 times previously, with each side winning 51. Santa Barbara has dominated the series over the last decade-plus, dropping just one of their 14 meetings under Head Coach Andrew Checketts. San Jose State visited Caesar Uyesaka Stadium last season in a two-game set that was also affected by weather; a heavy fog caused the first game to be suspended until the following day. Zander Darby drove in a run in each of the games as the Gauchos swept the two-game set.
 
Santa Barbara also played a pair of games against California Baptist last season, splitting a home-and-home series with each team winning at its home ballpark. Tyler Bremner pitched six innings and struck out seven in the Gauchos' 10-inning, walk-off win last May, in which Corey Nunez provided the decisive hit. The Gauchos are 3-2 all-time against the Lancers, having won two out of three in the teams' first-ever series in 2019.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
Home Sweet Home
This weekend's homecoming is good news, as Santa Barbara is undefeated at home this season. The Gauchos have out-scored opponents, 52-18, in six games at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium this season and have not lost a non-conference series at their home ballpark since 2021.
 
The confines of Caesar Uyesaka Stadium have been especially friendly to a Gaucho pitching staff that has had an up-and-down season. Santa Barbara has a team ERA of just 2.50 at home but a 5.44 ERA on the road. Additionally, opponents are hitting just .182 in Santa Barbara this season. Limiting hits has been one of the Gauchos' biggest strengths as a pitching staff in 2024, ranking 15th in the country in hits allowed per nine innings, though walks and hit batters have stung the Gauchos. Santa Barbara's strikeout numbers are also down, as one of the top staffs in the country last season ranks a modest 53rd in K's per nine innings this year.
 
The Pitching Equation
Tyler Bremner has been the Gauchos' most consistent arms, ranking 25th in the country with 4.97 hits allowed per nine innings this year and a team-high 33 strikeouts. The sophomore righty threw 97 pitches in a six-inning relief effort on Saturday and will feature in the pitching equation this weekend as well. Ryan Gallagher has also been strong this season in his return from Tommy John surgery, but he missed his last start as a precaution. He holds a 2.18 ERA on the season, with opponents batting just .141 against him. Regular Friday and Saturday starters Matt Ager and Mike Gutierrez are also part of Santa Barbara's plan for the weekend, though they could feature in a piggyback arrangement with one of Bremner or Gallagher. Gutierrez is 3-0 and allowing just 1.05 walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP) this season with 33 strikeouts. Ager has struggled to find the zone on occasions, with 17 walks to 29 strikeouts, but he did look strong against both Oregon and UConn.
 
"Next Man Up" On Offense
On offense, the Gauchos' depth has been their strength this season, with multiple players filling gaps due to injuries, only to play their way into those roles permanently. Justin Trimble and Jessada Brown have had to "wait their turns" over the first two years of their Gaucho careers but have played their way into the starting third base and left field spots, respectively, this year. Trimble has a team-high four home runs and is plenty capable of earning himself free passes to first with 15 walks and a team-high nine hit by pitches on the year. Brown has three homers himself, two of which he hit on the Gauchos' last road trip, and is one of the team's top hitters for average, batting .342. Jonathan Mendez is also an injury replacement who has made the shortstop spot his own. His four-hit night in Los Angeles bumped his season average up to .327.
 
Newcomer Brendan Durfee has been a huge addition as well, catching every game of the season and swinging one of the best bats in the lineup. He has a .379 average and four homers. The key bats of Aaron Parker, Zander Darby and Ivan Brethowr have all returned from injury as well, and Nick Oakley's turnaround has been crucial. After hitting .197 last year, he is up to .315 this year with 21 RBI.
 
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
San Jose State was picked as favorites to win a second straight Mountain West Championship this season, but the Spartans have struggled out of the gate, winning just eight of their first 25 games. They come into the weekend on a three-game losing streak, having dropped their last two at New Mexico and a mid-week contest against San Francisco.
 
The only standout stat for San Jose State as a team is their triple total, with Spartan hitters racking up 10 three-baggers on the season so far, the 17th-most in Division I.
Veterans Theo Hardy and Robert Hamchuk are the team's leaders in that category, with three each. Hamchuk also leads the Spartans with a .321 batting average. Hardy had a two-hit, two-RBI game against the Gauchos last year. Elsewhere in the lineup, Dalton Bowling provides plenty of power, leading the team in doubles (11), home runs (9), and RBI (24). He had a homer in last year's series and tallied three RBI.
 
Only two Spartan pitchers, lefties Micky Thompson and Ethan Ross, have started during every weekend so far, making them prime candidates to take the ball this series. Both have ERAs above seven. Ross started last Friday's game at New Mexico but was chased after just 1 2/3 innings in which he gave up eight runs. None of them were earned. Thompson has only walked eight batters all season, and two of those were on Saturday at New Mexico. He went 5 1/3 against the Lobos, allowing three runs.
 
SCOUTING THE LANCERS
California Baptist comes into the weekend with a 16-9 record and a three-game winning streak, fresh off a walk-off victory over CSUN on Monday night. The Lancers will face UT Arlington over the weekend before traveling to Santa Barbara. The Lancers' success has depended largely on their pitching staff this season, a unit which comes into the weekend with the 11th-best ERA in Division I, just 3.65.
 
Ryan Hetzler, CBU's top relief arm, has a 0.95 ERA in 12 appearances, picking up four wins and a pair of saves in those 12 outings. Nathan Hemmerling has also been strong out of the bullpen, striking out 20 batters while maintaining a 2.61 ERA in nine appearances. Freshman Cody New has taken the mound in each of CBU's last three mid-week games while also providing some weekend relief outings for a total of 19 2/3 innings on the season. He comes into the weekend with a 4.12 ERA and has only had one scoreless outing in his last five. He has also hit the 15th-most batters (9) in the country.
 
On offense, the Lancers have some power, but not a ton, ranking 89th in home runs (29) but eighth in doubles (63). Senior catcher Michael Carpentier has 14 of those doubles, good for second in Division I. He also leads the team with a .362 batting average and 22 RBI. Senior infielder Mitchel Simon is the second half of a one-two punch with Carpentier with 10 doubles and 18 RBI, both second on the team. He leads the Lancers with seven home runs, and his 10 doubles are 33rd in Division I.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will hit the road next weekend for a crucial Big West series at No. 20 UC Irvine, April 5-7. Saturday night's game at Anteater Ballpark will be nationally televised on ESPN2.