SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (5-2) returns to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium this weekend after their quick but dramatic visit to Los Angeles, hosting Utah (4-2) in a three-game series Feb. 27 through March 1 before a March 3 rematch with the LMU (3-6) team that they dispatched in extra innings down south.
 
This weekend's series will be the Utes' first visit to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium since 2000, with Friday's series opener just the fourth-ever game between Utah and the Gauchos. The last time the two teams got together was in Bakersfield at the end of the 2012 season, with Santa Barbara winning both games by a combined scoreline of 9-4. As for LMU, the Gauchos and Lions' meeting in Los Angeles last night was the 153^rd all-time and Santa Barbara's 85^th win in the series.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos come into the weekend on a four-game winning streak after sweeping Portland in their home opener and outlasting the Lions last night. The pitching was lights-out over those four wins, allowing just five earned runs across the 38 total innings. As a staff, Santa Barbara ranks 22^nd nationally in earned run average, and both Jackson Flora and Chase Hoover carry ERAs under 1.00 into the weekend. Raymond Olivas has established himself as the Gauchos' fireman out of the bullpen; the righty got the Gauchos out of a bases-loaded jam to preserve their 3-2 win on Saturday and stranded two Lions in scoring position to keep Tuesday night's game tied late.
 
On the offensive side, Noah Karliner found his power stroke this weekend, hitting his first two home runs as a Gaucho, including a clutch, game-tying shot to force extra innings on Tuesday night and bring his NCAA career total up to 36. Nick Husovsky continued to swing a big bat too, homering on both Friday and Sunday as part of a five-RBI weekend. Husovsky's four long balls put him 17^th in the national home run rankings.
 
SCOUTING THE UTES
Utah has spent its entire season so far in California, opening the year by taking two out of three from Fresno State before taking part in the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament in San Diego last weekend. There, they lost to the University of San Diego on Friday before bouncing back with a 7-0 win over co-hosts San Diego State on Saturday and finishing the weekend with a 9-4 win over Creighton on Sunday.
 
The Utes have four players batting .300 or better through the first two weeks of the season (as do the Gauchos), with team batting leader Luke Jacobs riding a four-game hitting streak and bringing a .389 average into the weekend. Canadian infielder Cameron Gurney is the Utes' RBI leader, with nine, and is hitting .333 on the season. Not to be overlooked despite his .217 average, outfielder Jake Long can handle the bat, ranking 22^nd nationally in sacrifice bunts and second on the team with six RBIs. Infielder Nevan Noonan has been one of the toughest hitters to strike out in the country so far, having done so just once in 20 at-bats.
 
On the mound, the Utes' rotation has been the same for both of the first two weekends, though Anson McGorman has not made it out of the first inning on either of his Sunday starts, giving up 11 earned runs in the process. Dylan Gazaway has relieved him both times, to great effect. The righty allowed just two earned runs at Fresno State and none against Creighton. At the top of the rotation, 2025 All-Big 12 First Teamer Colter McAnelly has a 3.60 ERA across a pair of five-inning starts, and Payton Riske is coming of a 5 2/3 inning, two-hit performance at San Diego State last Saturday.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
LMU will play five games before their rematch with the Gauchos, including a Monday afternoon game against Utah in Los Angeles. For their weekend slate, the Lions head to North Carolina for four games, two at Wake Forest and two against Davidson.
 
With just a week until they see LMU again, Santa Barbara will want to figure out lefty Alec Johnson, who struck out six Gauchos over five innings, allowing just four hits and one unearned run as the Lions starter Tuesday night. A pair of usually multi-inning arms also made impacts for the Lions over just a single frame on Tuesday, with righties Adam Behrens and Jake Geis both pitching scoreless innings.
 
While the Gauchos held LMU to just three hits, the Lions who did get on base caused problems, combining to steal eight bases on the night, with only one of them being caught. First baseman Zach Wadas was the peskiest of them all, stealing three bases, though he was also the only Lion to be caught. Third baseman DJ Ghiorso stole two without fail.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
First pitch times are set for 4:05 p.m. Friday, 3:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday against the Utes, then 4:05 p.m. on Tuesday against LMU. Season and single-game tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (805) 893-UCSB(8272).
 
Fans can also catch all the action from anywhere, live on ESPN+ or by following along with live stats at ucsbgauchos.com.