SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The No. 25 UC Santa Barbara Baseball team defeated UConn on a walk-off walk Saturday, breaking a tense 3-3 deadlock and securing the series victory in dramatic fashion. LeTrey McCollum proved key to both the Gauchos' eighth-inning rally and their clutch sequence in the bottom of the ninth, scoring a run in the eighth before drawing the walk that sent Santa Barbara fans home happy. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite the impressive performance of Santa Barbara's starting pitcher Mike Gutierrez, who struck out nine batters over six innings, UConn surged ahead early in the game by capitalizing on their limited opportunities. The Gauchos found themselves trailing after the Huskies knocked a solo home run off Gutierrez in the second inning, and a Gaucho throwing error in the fourth earned UConn their second run and a 2-0 lead. 

After struggling to string together consecutive hits in the first four innings, the Gauchos finally got themselves on the board in the bottom of the fifth. It all started with senior Nick Oakley, whose sharp base hit to the left side kick-started the inning. After a balk and a groundout moved Oakley to third, senior Jonah Sebring stepped up, delivering a clutch sacrifice fly to drive in Oakley and notch the Gauchos' first run of the game.

It was back to a pitcher's duel after that, as all scoring came to a halt until the top of the eighth inning, when the Huskies reclaimed their two-run advantage a run with a home run off Santa Barbara reliever Tyler Bremner, who had taken over for Gutierrez to begin the seventh. 

The bottom of the eighth proved to be transformative for the Gaucho offense. McCollum drew a crucial walk to kick off the inning, then Sebring followed suit with a walk of his own, advancing McCollum into scoring position. With runners on first and second, Reiss Calvin stepped up and delivered a clutch single to right field, driving in McCollum for the Gauchos' first run of the inning. After UConn went to their bullpen, junior Jesseda Brown hit into a double play, but Sebring was able to come home from third, leveling the scores at three runs each. 

After Bremner worked his way around a lead-off single in the top of the ninth, including some clutch defense from Justin Trimble at third base, cutting down the runner as he broke for home, the Gauchos carried their momentum into the bottom half of the inning. With the scores still tied, the first three Gauchos to bat all reached base safely. After Aaron Parker's lead-off single, Skyler Chang was summoned to pinch-run. After a Trimble infield single, an errant pickoff attempt and an intentional walk to freshman Jonathan Mendez, Chang found himself 90 feet away from winning the game. McCollum stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out, facing a brand-new UConn reliever. McCollum took four straight balls to earn the game-winning walk.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Mike Gutierrez worked his third consecutive quality start on the mound, matching his career high with nine strikeouts while allowing just two runs, only one of which was earned, over six innings of work. 
• While the Gauchos' pivotal eighth and ninth innings at the plate both featured crucial walks, those were the only four free passes drawn by Santa Barbara hitters on Saturday. That total is the Gauchos' third-lowest this season and their second-lowest in a win (three against Villanova on Tuesday).
• Skyler Chang's game-winning stroll from third to home marked his first run scored in collegiate baseball.
• Gutierrez and Tyler Bremner combined to allow just two hits on Saturday night. Since both of those were home runs, the Gaucho pitching staff officially allowed a .000 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) in the game.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will look to complete their first sweep of 2024 in the series finale on Sunday, March 10. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. from Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, with Ryan Gallagher set to take the mound for Santa Barbara. The game will also be live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio broadcast through ucsbgauchos.com.