FULLERTON, Calif. — Rowan Kelly marked his Big West Championship debut with a pair of acrobatic catches in center field and LeTrey McCollum went 3-for-5 at the plate, but the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (36-18) was beaten by a pair of balls that no one could have caught, falling to Hawai'i (34-19) in Wednesday's tournament opener, 6-2. A three-run home run gave the Rainbow Warriors a lead they would never relinquish, as a two-run homer only steepened the Gauchos' hill to climb late.
 
FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
"It was a good baseball game early," Checketts said. "Good pitching, obviously I thought Flora did a good job. They hit the two over the fence, which changed the game, but I thought it was a competitive game and Hawai'i's bullpen did a great job."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a pitchers' duel early, with Jackson Flora taking just five pitches to set the side down in order in the bottom of the first, but he had to turn escape artist in the bottom of the second. After a double dropped just in front of a sliding Kelly in center, Flora faced 'Bows on second and third with nobody out, but he managed to hold Hawai'i to just a single run in the inning on a sacrifice fly, recording his first strikeout of the day before a flyout to left ended the threat.
 
In the top of the third, the Gaucho offense mounted a two-out rally to punch back, kickstarted by McCollum's first hit of the day, which extended his program-record on-base streak to 50 games. Jack Holman was hit by a pitch, then Isaac Kim banged a single into left field to score McCollum and tie the game.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Kelly made his first spectacular catch of the day to save a run and keep the scores level. With a runner on and one out, Hawai'i's home run leader hit a drive back to the wall in left center field. Kelly raced over and leapt, catching the ball halfway up the fence for the second out, sending the runner scurrying back to first base. A groundout to second wrapped things up for Flora in the frame.
 
In the top of the fifth, the Gauchos capitalized on the momentum from Kelly's grab. A walk to Corey Nunez and another single from McCollum chased the 'Bows' starting pitcher, only for Kim's single to load the bases against the newly installed reliever. With the bags juiced and only one out, Nate Vargas did what he does better than nearly anyone in the country and drove in a run with a fly ball. The catcher's sacrifice fly was his conference-leading ninth of the season and his 50^th RBI. It also gave Santa Barbara a 2-1 lead.
 
Unfortunately, that lead did not last. After a walk and a single, Hawai'i hit a one-out home run to take a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Things nearly got worse in the bottom of the sixth, but some slick fielding got the Gauchos out of another tough spot. A chip-shot of a hit landed between Flora and Jonathan Mendez at second base for a lucky lead-off single, but the Santa Barbara defense managed to make their own luck and end the inning. Nunez made a great play at short to start what was initially called a 6-4-3 double play, but the runner was called safe at first after video review. Not that it mattered, since Flora immediately overrode that bad luck by picking that runner off. Then, on a two-out fly ball to right center, Kelly again came charging over, this time making a sliding grab to wrap up the inning.
 
After McCollum's one-out single in the top of the seventh prompted Hawai'i to bring in their closer, the Gauchos caught a break, Holman reaching on a fielder's choice as the 'Bows' second baseman made a risky glove flip to try and get McCollum out at second but failed, leaving Santa Barbara with two runners on. Santa Barbara tried to press their advantage with a double steal, but the throw down just narrowly beat McCollum to third for the second out. A strikeout ended the frame without the Gauchos managing to plate a run.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, a two-run, opposite-field home run extended the Hawai'i lead to 6-2. As if to illustrate what kind of day it was for the Gauchos, Xavier Esquer produced nearly the exact same swing to lead off the top of the ninth, but his fly ball died at the warning track rather than clearing the fence. There would be no rally.
 
The Gauchos finish the season with a record of 36-18, their sixth consecutive full season with 35 or more wins.