SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — It was a happy homecoming for the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (2-2) Friday evening, as the Gauchos dispatched Portland (2-3) by a 4-1 margin to win their 2026 home opener. Rowan Kelly scored a run and drove in another, Nick Husovsky hit his third homer in as many games, and Chase Hoover sealed the win with a solid long relief performance.
 
FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
"You know, in a perfect world you only have to use two arms on Friday to get a W," Checketts said. "After (Hoover's) second inning, we were kind of trying to make a decision, do we want to use one more arm today so we can get him back on Sunday or do we let him finish it, and it felt like just finish it."
 
"We have to have more guys do that. We need to have more guys at the back end of the game step up and finish games, so it's nice to see Chase do that. He's worked really hard to get back out there, had a back injury last year; he's been very competitive and really done a nice job since the season started.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The offense was all taken care of early, with neither team putting runs on the board after the third inning. The Gauchos scored on their first turn to bat for the third time in four games, Kelly's lead-off single and steal of second putting him in scoring position for when Cole Kosciusko punched a single through the right side of the Portland infield, bouncing off the first baseman's reaching glove.
 
Santa Barbara scratched across two more runs after loading the bases in the second, Max Stagg's RBI walk forcing home the first and Kelly's infield single pushing home the second, the sophomore centerfielder just beating Portland's pitcher in a footrace to the bag.
 
The Pilots got a run back in the top of the third with a solo home run, but Husovsky smacked a no-doubter into the trees in left field to answer in the bottom half of the inning.
 
With reigning Big West Pitcher of the Week Jackson Flora on the mound, the Gauchos' 4-1 lead was pretty secure, even though their ace was admittedly not at the height of his powers. After a clean first inning, Flora had to wriggle out of a big jam in the second. A hit batter, bunt single and walk loaded the bases with one out, but the big righty responded by striking out the next two Pilots looking to slip the noose and leave the bags juiced. He was tagged with the solo home run to lead off the third but avoided further damage with a strikeout and groundout to strand runners at first and second. He allowed just a walk in the fourth and ended his outing with a perfect fifth, recording his sixth strikeout of the day as his final action.
 
Hoover took over to start the sixth and immediately found himself in a spot of bother after a leadoff walk, missed double play opportunity and one-out double put two Pilots in scoring position. He struck out Portland's pinch hitter, then escaped the inning on a lineout to center. A pair of K's and a fly ball smacked right at Stagg in left made for a much tidier seventh for Hoover, and he erased a lead-off baserunner in the eighth with a slick pick-off throw to first, right as the runner took off towards second. Husovsky and Jonathan Mendez completed the caught stealing, then a flyout and a lineout completed the inning, Kelly covering ground well to track down the latter.
 
Hoover came back out for the ninth and put the game to bed all by himself, racking up two more strikeouts before fielding his position well for the final out. The four-inning save, decorated with five strikeouts, is Hoover's longest outing, longest scoreless outing and most strikeouts for his hometown Gauchos and one of the best games of his collegiate career between UC Santa Barbara and TCU.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos and Pilots return to the diamond for the second game of this weekend's three-game series on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 3:05 p.m. from Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. Nathan Aceves is set to start on the mound for the Gauchos, opposing Portland's Logan Anderson. Tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (805) 893-UCSB(8272).