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University of California, Santa Barbara

Team lined up for the national anthem
Jeff Liang
7
UC Santa Barbara SB 15-3, 4-1 Big West
15
Winner Hawaii UH 13-5, 2-3 Big West
UC Santa Barbara SB
15-3, 4-1 Big West
7
Final
15
Hawaii UH
13-5, 2-3 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UC Santa Barbara SB 0 0 0 3 2 2 0 0 0 7 7 3
Hawaii UH 2 0 2 6 3 0 0 2 X 15 16 4

W: Freddy Rodriguez (2-0) L: Flora, Jackson (1-1) S: Isaiah Magdaleno (2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball’s 25-Game Conference Winning Streak Snapped

HONOLULU — The Ides of March were not kind to the No. 15 UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (15-3, 4-1 Big West), as the Gauchos and Hawai'i (13-5, 2-3 Big West) played a game on Saturday night that was the polar opposite to the one they had played just 24 hours prior, with the teams combining to commit seven errors and score 22 runs. The Rainbow Warriors committed four of those errors but also scored 15 of those runs to win the game and even the series. The loss also ended Santa Barbara's run of 25 consecutive wins in Big West games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Unlike Friday's pitchers' duel, where the Gauchos held Hawai'i off the board through five innings and plated the first run of the game, Santa Barbara found themselves down 2-0 after the first thanks to a walk, hit batter, single, fielder's choice and single. The Rainbow Warriors' lead expanded to four in the bottom of the third after the lead-off runner got on base again, and a dropped fly ball did not help matters, putting runners on the corner with no outs. Despite Gaucho starter Jackson Flora recording a pair of strikeouts in the inning, three singles plated two runs for Hawai'i.
 
However, Santa Barbara rallied back immediately in the top of the fourth. Isaac Kim and LeTrey McCollum both hit singles to get on base, then advanced an extra 90 feet thanks to an errant pickoff attempt. From there, Jeremiah Crain drove home both McCollum and Kim with his two-out double, and Cole Kosciusko plated Crain with an RBI single, making the deficit just one at 4-3.
 
But the game only got wilder from there. The Gauchos had the opposite of a shutdown inning on the mound in the bottom of the fourth, with 12 Rainbow Warriors coming to the plate and Hawai'i scoring six runs in the inning. They hit six singles and a home run in the inning, while the Gauchos also committed two passed balls and an error, walking a batter and hitting another.
 
The Santa Barbara offense chipped into their 10-3 deficit in the top of the fifth, with a walk and an error putting two Gauchos on with two outs. A wild pitch and then a throwing error allowed Kim and Jonathan Mendez to come home as McCollum reached safely on that errant throw, making the score 10-5.
 
The rollercoaster continued in the bottom of the fifth, when Hawai'i scored three more runs on a single, two doubles, and then a two-out single, despite Gaucho reliever AJ Krodel recording all three outs in the frame by way of the K. And befitting the game, Santa Barbara came right back and scored more runs in the top of the sixth. After Crain was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Xavier Esquer drove him with an RBI double to left, and Jack Holman plated Esquer with a one-out single.
 
Raymond Olivas came on in relief of Krodel to start the bottom of the sixth and finally quieted the Hawai'i bats, setting the 'Bows down in order in both the sixth and seventh. However, at the same time, Olivas' Rainbow Warrior counterpart was keeping the Gaucho bats just as quiet.
 
Hawai'i got to Olivas for the final two runs of the game in the bottom of the eighth after he hit the lead-off batter and walked the next. A throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt saw the ball get all the way out into right field, allowing the two runners on base to come around and score.
 
Carson Timothy came from the bullpen to put out the fire and did just that in his collegiate debut, recording three outs in order to end the inning. Unfortunately, the Gauchos were not able to mount a rally in the ninth.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
  • Saturday's defeat was the first time since April 7, 2024 that UC Santa Barbara lost a Big West game, ending a run of 25 consecutive conference victories, including eight straight conference series sweeps. The 25-game run is the longest conference winning streak in UC Santa Barbara Baseball history.
  • Carson Timothy's one inning of work on Saturday night was his collegiate debut; the redshirt freshman recorded a groundout, his first career strikeout and a flyout, needing just 10 pitches to do so.
  • With their three runs in the fourth inning, UC Santa Barbara became the first team to score a run against Hawai'i starter Liam O'Brien this season. Prior to Saturday's game, O'Brien had not allowed a run and had given up just four hits; the Gauchos had four hits off of him in the game, scoring three runs.
 
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara and Hawai'i will play the rubber match of this three-game series on Sunday, March 16 at 4:05 p.m. Pacific Time. It will be the last Big West game the Gauchos will play at Les Murakami Stadium, with the Rainbow Warriors set to visit Santa Barbara next season before leaving for the Mountain West. The Gauchos will start right-handed pitcher Calvin Proskey on Sunday; Hawai'i has not yet announced who will oppose him. A free audio broadcast of the game will be available at ucsbgauchos.com/BSBRadio and live stats can be found at ucsbgauchos.com/BSBLiveStats.
 
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