BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Tyler Bremner went the distance in a career day on the mound for the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team, striking out a career-best 12 batters while allowing just one run over nine innings as the Gauchos wrapped up their fifth consecutive Big West series sweep with a 7-1 win over Cal State Bakersfield. At the plate, Zander Darby and LeTrey McCollum each posted three-hit days to power the offense.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second game in a row, Darby got the Gauchos on the board in the top of the first, delivering a two-out RBI single after back-to-back singles and an error put Nick Oakley and Jessada Brown in scoring position. After Oakley crossed, Brown also tried to score after Darby's infield hit caromed off the second baseman's glove, but was thrown out.
 
Fortunately for him and the Gauchos, Bremner was pitching well enough to make that slim lead hold up, retiring the first seven Roadrunners he faced in order. He worked around a pair of singles in the third, then picked up some more run support from his offense in the top of the fourth.
 
With two outs, Jonah Sebring got a double out of a high pop-up after the Bakersfield shortstop lost it in the sun, and McCollum converted on the chance with an RBI double of his own, this time in the more traditional fashion, finding the gap in right center.
 
The Roadrunners got their only run of the game off Bremner after a lead-off double in the bottom of the fourth, but that was their only baserunner of the inning. Including the three outs he got in that frame, Bremner retired 16 consecutive batters from the fourth to the ninth, striking out the side in order on just 10 pitches in the fifth.
 
In the top of the eighth, the Gaucho offense broke the game open with a big two-out rally, again with the help of the sun. After Darby's two-out double to right center, Jonathan Mendez drove him in with a double that barely escaped the infield, a high fly ball that dropped between three Roadrunners. Sebring singled home Mendez to make it 4-1, and after McCollum joined him on the basepaths, Justin Trimble hit a second blooped double into right, scoring two runs as the ball dropped in front of the Bakersfield right fielder. Ivan Brethowr lined a single into left to score Trimble for the fifth run of the inning and the Gauchos' seventh of the game.
 
A one-out single ended Bremner's streak of perfection in the ninth, but the flamethrowing sophomore simply fanned the next two batters he faced to punctuate the first complete game of his career.  
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Tyler Bremner is the second Gaucho to throw a complete game this season after Ryan Gallagher's complete game shutout at UC Davis in April. Gallagher took 107 pitches to get his 27 outs, Bremner took 108 on Sunday.
• LeTrey McCollum had his second straight three-hit day against the Roadrunners on Sunday, going 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a pair of stolen bases. On the series, he hit a team-best .583.
• With Sunday's win, the Gauchos completed their fifth consecutive sweep of a conference series, their sixth total on the season. Their 15-game Big West win streak is Santa Barbara's longest in a single season since Head Coach Andrew Checketts took the helm in 2011.

 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos return home for their final mid-week matchup of the season on Tuesday, hosting St. Mary's at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. UC Santa Barbara will be hosting its final Isla Vista Community Night of the season against the Gaels, wearing their Isla Vista jerseys and welcoming groups from across IV out to the ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. The game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio broadcast available through ucsbgauchos.com.