SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (26-12, 12-9 Big West) handed arch rivals Cal Poly (27-11, 15-3 Big West) their first conference series loss of the season on Saturday, as sophomore pitcher Jackson Flora struck out nine Mustangs and allowed just one hit in a complete game shutout. Santa Barbara struck early, scoring four runs in the first three innings, then rode the arm of their flamethrower. Thanks in large part to a stellar defensive play from Reiss Calvin at second base, the Gauchos became just the second team to shut out Cal Poly all season, with a 4-0 victory.
 
FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
"Obviously Jackson Flora was special today," Checketts said. "That's elite, elite stuff, elite command, elite composure. He had that bases-loaded situation that he got out of, he had the runner at third with less than two that he got out of, so we can see him growing and maturing and improving. (He) had some really good outings early in the year, wasn't great the middle and even missed a start, and his last four outings have been really good and consistent. Obviously, that was really good. He carried the team on his back today."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither Flora nor the Santa Barbara offense took any time to get going in Saturday's rubber game, with Flora picking up a punchout as part of a one-two-three first inning on the bump and the Gaucho bats scratching across a run in the bottom of the first. Xavier Esquer led off the game with a single, and LeTrey McCollum's single right after moved Esquer over to third on a perfect hit-and-run play. Nate Vargas drove in Esquer with a sacrifice fly into left center.
 
Flora struck out two more Mustangs in the second, and the offense struck again in their half of that frame. This time it was Rowan Kelly leading things off with a single, and another hit-and-run play moved him to second. Sure, the batter did not actually put the "hit" in hit-and-run, but Kelly ran so well that he made a straight steal of second as the throw down was high. Kelly took third on a groundout, then scampered home on a wild pitch to double Santa Barbara's lead.
 
Flora made it a perfect first time through the order with another one-two-three frame in the third, and the Gaucho offense threatened to run away with the game, scoring two more runs in the bottom half. Cole Kosciusko singled to left, then Vargas blasted a 428-foot homer to straightaway center field, making the score 4-0 in favor of the home team.
 
That lead came under threat in the top of the fourth as a hit batter, dropped fly ball and walk loaded the bases with one out, but Flora buckled down and delivered a clutch strikeout to win a seven-pitch at-bat, then fielded his position for an inning-ending groundout, keeping the shutout alive.
 
The only trouble Flora faced in the fifth was a lead-off single that came screaming back up the middle and off his glove. He collected his fifth strikeout of the day in the frame, then retired the side in order in the sixth, picking up another K. There was more trouble in the seventh as a dropped fly ball and a lineout to center put a Mustang on third with just one out. This time, Flora got some help from his friends. Calvin, playing second base for just the second time in his Gaucho career, made a full-extension, Superman dive to snare a line drive to his right, recording the second out of the inning and keeping the runner at third. A flyout to left center on the next pitch ended the frame.
 
From there, it was six up, six down for Flora to complete his one-hit shutout and give Santa Barbara the Blue-Green Rivalry Series win.
 
FROM THE STUDENT ATHLETES
Jackson Flora on his outing: "I felt good," Flora said. "It's a nice day, rivalry game, my team needed me to go out there and throw strikes so I went, did my job. I had fastball, slider and sweeper working; I trust Checketts with all his pitch calling, I mean, he knows just about everything there is to know about baseball so whatever he calls, alright, I go out there and throw it. And then, you saw the defense behind me. Reiss in the seventh, that diving catch, he's probably the reason I got into the ninth inning right there. It was good, I felt good."
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Thanks to Flora's effort, the Gauchos have now had pitchers record complete-game shutouts in back-to-back seasons, after Ryan Gallagher accomplished the feat exactly one year ago, April 19, 2024 at UC Davis. At that time, Gallagher became the first Gaucho since Michael McGreevy in April of 2021 to record all 27 outs without surrendering a run.
• Flora becomes the first Santa Barbara pitcher since Matthew Vedo in 2011 to throw a one-hitter, who did so in a 2-1 win over Nevada.
• Saturday's performance was the pinnacle of what has been a tremendous last four weeks for Flora. In his last four outings, the sophomore has a 0.62 ERA over 29 innings, with 27 strikeouts and just a .134 batting average against.
• In securing their series win against the Mustangs, the Gauchos join some elite company. Only four teams have taken a series from Cal Poly this season, and they are: UCLA, Texas A&M, Oregon State and UC Santa Barbara.

 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will complete this four-game homestand on Monday, April 21 as they host California Baptist in what will be the third and final game between Santa Barbara and the Lancers this season. The Gauchos took the first, on a neutral field in San Diego, then CBU won the second last Monday in Riverside. First pitch is set for 4:35 p.m. from Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio broadcast available at ucsbgauchos.com.