LOS ANGELES — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (31-16) will play its final non-conference games of the season this weekend with a three-game set against Loyola Marymount (24-24), split between Page Stadium and Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. While the games have minimal impact on either team's postseason hopes — both sides likely need to win their conference title to make the NCAA tournament — there is still plenty on the line. By the end of the weekend, the Gauchos will have played the Lions more than any other team outside The Big West, and two UC Santa Barbara Baseball records could tumble in the series. Tyler Bremner, who has started every Friday game this year, is three away from setting a new career strikeouts record, while LeTrey McCollum is three games away from owning the longest on-base streak in program history.
 
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Plan to Park in Lot 22 — Due to ongoing construction, parking in Lot 30 next to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium will be extremely limited. Fans are encouraged to park in Lot 22, the garage next to the Thunderdome. Lot 27, in front of the Thunderdome, will also be available. UC Santa Barbara Athletics will provide assistance getting to and from the ballpark for seniors and people with mobility issues.
 
Introducing the Yardi Youth Pass — In partnership with Yardi Systems, UC Santa Barbara is offering free admission to all home baseball games for young Gauchos in 6^th grade or below. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, beginning 60 minutes prior to each game from the Yardi Youth Pass table outside the front gate of Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. Availability may be limited due to the stadium's capacity.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Santa Barbara earned its first ranked win of the season on Tuesday, defeating No. 25 USC, 3-2, at home. Reed Moring dealt five innings of shutout ball on the mound to earn the win, while Cole Tryba shut down a late Trojan rally to earn the save. Rowan Kelly, Corey Nunez and McCollum each tallied RBIs to provide the runs.
 
Last time the Gauchos and Lions got together, Nathan Aceves fired eight strikeouts over five shutout innings while home runs from Ian Fernandez and Cole Kosciusko powered Santa Barbara to a 3-1 win, with Tryba picking up the save. The Gauchos have one other game at Page Stadium under their belts this season, an 8-1 win over USC where Aceves again turned in five shutout innings on the bump and homers did much of the offensive lifting. Isaac Kim and Jonathan Mendez both left the yard in that game.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
LMU comes into the weekend at an even .500, 24 wins and 24 losses, though they have been scuffling recently, with just two wins in their last 10 games. The Lions did not play a mid-week game, so their most recent action was a 9-7 loss to Gonzaga on Sunday. LMU took one of their three games against the Bulldogs last weekend, a 7-1 victory on Saturday, dropping Friday's game by a 5-4 scoreline.
 
This weekend, the Gauchos will once again have to contend with a Lions lineup that boasts five qualified hitters batting over .300 and plenty of speed on the basepaths. With 104 steals as a team, LMU ranks 29^th in college baseball this season, and they are not afraid to get aboard the hard way. Only four teams have been hit by pitches more often than the Lions, who have been plunked a total of 115 times. The Gauchos are one of the better teams in college baseball at limiting hit batters, with just 59 on the year. Cam Hassert has been hit more than any Lion, with 20, and is also one of two LMU players with a team-high 16 stolen bases on the year. In Nate Savoie and Beau Ankeney, the Lions have power too; both men have 13 homers on the year, though the Gauchos held that duo to a combined 0-for-5 in the first meeting this season.
 
On the mound, things are much different for LMU. Only one man, Kenji Pallares, has made a start in all 12 weekend series for the Lions so far this year, and his ERA is a whopping 6.12. Avery Laine, the only other Lion with at least 10 starts, has a 4.53 ERA and opponents are hitting .286 against him. Laine did pitch seven innings of one-run ball against the Zags last weekend, but the week before against Saint Mary's, he got tagged for four runs in as many innings. As for Sunday, the Lions have started a different pitcher in each of their last two series finales, though Michael Nunez has featured for multiple innings of relief in each. The righty has a 5.72 ERA in 39 1/3 innings so far this season and gave up the home run to Kosciusko last time the Gauchos and Lions saw each other.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
This weekend's series will begin at Page Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday at 6 p.m., then move to Santa Barbara's Caesar Uyesaka Stadium on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and Sunday at 1:05 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats and an audio broadcast available at ucsbgauchos.com.