ISLA VISTA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team put on a show defensively for the lively crowd on hand at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium Tuesday night, holding the UCLA offense scoreless in a 6-0 Gaucho victory. Aaron Parker's grand slam provided the decisive runs in the second inning, and he caught a pair of Bruins stealing as part of an all-around tremendous defensive effort that led to Santa Barbara's first shutout of UCLA since 1984.
 
FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
On the team's performance: "I thought we were in the right spot the majority of the game, they hit a lot of balls hard but right at us," Checketts said, crediting coaches Matt Fonteno and Spencer Erdman for positioning the defense. "We were in the strike zone for the most part, we had a couple blips on the radar, but in general we won the freebie war, and I think that's why we scored more."
 
On Jonah Sebring: "His first steps in the outfield, I mean everybody complimented him on that, his ability to get jumps out there, amazing first steps," Checketts said. "That was huge, because he turned a couple hard-hit balls, maybe potential doubles, (into outs) getting a good jump, and he was really good out there and had some good swings at the plate. It's nice to see him get going, and he's a true centerfielder and he can really go get the ball and that was fun to see today."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Santa Barbara's defense was on show from the very first inning, as UCLA's Peyton Brennan served a one-out double into right field. Ivan Brethowr cut it off, then fired a perfect relay to Nick Oakley, who did the same to Justin Trimble at third base, who tagged Brennan out as he tried to stretch the double into a triple. The Gauchos flashed the leather again in the top of the second, turning a slick 3-6-1 double play to extinguish the threat from a pair of Bruin singles.
 
In the bottom of the second, it was the offense's turn to fire up the student-heavy crowd on Surge Night. Jonah Sebring started the rally with a one-out single, then Reiss Calvin worked a walk. Jonathan Mendez's infield single loaded the bases for Parker, who blasted a no-doubt grand slam to left field on the first pitch he saw, a second Gaucho grand slam in as many games.
 
Parker then made the first of two big defensive plays in the top of the third, getting his first caught stealing to erase the lead-off single that had chased Gaucho opener Frank Camarillo from the game. Brethowr made the second with another tremendous relay to end the inning. On another double to right center, Brethowr again cut the ball off and showcased his arm, launching a relay into Mendez who then fired home in time to cut down UCLA's Brennan for a second time, this time trying to score from first on the play.
 
The Gauchos' bats stayed quiet for a few more innings, but their defense made sure the Bruins stayed off the board. In the top of the fourth, Calvin made a sprawling catch to snag a ball he had overran in foul ground, then Oakley laid out to snag a line drive on the next pitch. In the sixth, it was first baseman Brendan Durfee's turn to snag a liner, holding onto one that shot basically right into his glove. Parker caught his second runner of the night in the seventh.
 
After the crowd had stretched out, Santa Barbara's offense added some insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh on a Zander Darby RBI single, then Jackson Flora set UCLA down in order in the top of the eighth, the first perfect inning by a Gaucho pitcher on the evening. Durfee ended that inning with a diving grab on a line drive, his second time snaring a liner on the evening. The Gauchos got their sixth run in the bottom of the eighth without the benefit of a hit, as Sebring reached on an error to start the frame, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, beat the throw to take third on a grounder to shortstop, then scored on Durfee's RBI fielder's choice, the Gaucho first baseman hustling down the line to break up a double play. Flora set the Bruins down in order in the top of the ninth to complete his three-inning save, his fifth of the season.
 
FROM THE STUDENT ATHLETES
Aaron Parker on the Gauchos' defensive preparation: "We just practice it," Parker said. "I don't think there's a team on the West Coast who practiced much harder than us. We put the pressure on in practice so that when the game happens, we just get to have fun, and the crowd here made it that much more fun. Taking care of the baseball is one of our number one priorities as a defense, catch play, being clean with the baseball and picking it up one time like we did in the outfield, so it makes it a lot easier when everyone is doing their job and people are picking each other up."
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Officially, the Gaucho defense retired five Bruins on lineouts to just three strikeouts; Santa Barbara's defense also made two outs from outfield assists and two by catching runners stealing.
• Aaron Parker's grand slam brought his season RBI total up to 26, the third-most on the team and a mark he has reached in just 22 games played.
• Jackson Flora pitched a perfect three innings to earn his fifth save of the season, facing just eight batters to do so, thanks to Parker's seventh-inning caught stealing.
• With his two caught stealings Tuesday night, Parker is now the only catcher in The Big West to catch twice as many base stealers (4) as he has stolen bases allowed (2).
• Brendan Durfee's catch to end the eighth inning was his 294^th putout of the season, the most made by any fielder in The Big West.

 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos are back on the road next, traveling north for a three-game series at UC Davis, April 19-21. They will follow that up with a mid-week game at LMU on April 23 before returning home April 26 to open a three-game series against Cal State Fullerton. On Saturday, April 27, the Gauchos will feature on national television, with ESPNU set to broadcast their game against the Titans.