SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — On a night where offense was hard to find, another pitcher came up big out of the bullpen to power the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (3-2) to victory over Portland (2-4). Raymond Olivas was summoned to put out a fire, did just that, then finished off the game with 3 1/3 innings of one-hit ball to make the Gauchos' early offense stick. Noah Karliner hit his first Division I home run Saturday evening, but it was a pair of "freebie runs" that got Santa Barbara the 3-2 win over the visiting Pilots.
 
FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
"Tight game, not a lot of hits and offense to be had," Checketts said. "A lot of the runs were freebie runs; they gave us some, we gave them some. So, not a great day offensively, but I thought we handled the baseball defensively for the most part. Besides that inning where it got away from us and we stopped throwing strikes, the pitching was outstanding: Aceves for most of that outing and then yeah, Ray was fantastic there at the end."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Starter Nathan Aceves was one of the main reasons for the lack of offense on Saturday night; after working around a walk and and a single in the top of the first, the sophomore righty retired the Pilots in order in the second and third, allowed only a hit batter in the fourth, then was right back to business with a one-two-three fifth, racking up six strikeouts.
 
While Aceves dealt, the Gaucho bats chipped away where they could at Portland's pitching. In the bottom of the second, Noah Karliner showed off the power that brought him 34 home runs at the Division II level with Cal State Dominguez Hills, launching a no-doubt solo homer into the eucalyptus trees beyond the left field wall for the first run of the game and his first round-tripper as a Gaucho. And in the bottom of the fourth, Santa Barbara made the most of those freebies. Walks to three of the first four batters loaded the bases with one out, and a two-out walk to Nico Libed earned the catcher his first RBI as a Gaucho. As Rowan Kelly stood in, a wild pitch allowed Karliner to scamper home for Santa Barbara's third run of the game, scored without the benefit of a hit.
 
The Gauchos' three-run lead turned to just one in what was a shaky sixth inning, the one blot on Santa Barbara's otherwise shiny pitching ledger on the night. A hit batter and a double brought home Portland's first run, and three more walks forced home the second, though Van Froling did pick up his first strikeout of the season after relieving Aceves. With the bags still loaded, Olivas was summoned from the bullpen to get the final, rally-ending out. He did just that with an emphatic strikeout.
 
Returning for the seventh, Olivas worked around a one-out single, and he struck out a pair of Pilots in a perfect eighth. He was perfect again in the ninth, starting off the final frame with his fourth strikeout of the game, then ending the evening with back-to-back groundouts.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos go for the sweep on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 12:05 p.m. Santa Barbara native and Dos Pueblos High School alum Kellan Montgomery is set to take the mound at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for the first time in his hometown team's colors. He will be opposed by Portland's right-handed pitcher Will Labonte. Tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets.