SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The book on the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (7-2) has long been as goes the pitching, so go the Gauchos, and this weekend the pitching is going great. On Saturday, sophomore starter Nathan Aceves had the best outing of his collegiate career and the Santa Barbara offense manufactured seven runs for the second night running to secure a series win over the visiting Utah Utes (4-4) with a 7-1 victory. Aceves tossed 6 1/3 innings of one-hit ball, striking out 10, while the Gauchos put crooked numbers on the board in the second and the seventh. And in the third, Jonathan Mendez delivered a steal of home.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hitting the first batter of the game hardly portends the type of outing Aceves would go on to have, but with some help from his catcher, he faced the minimum in the first. A strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play wiped away that leadoff baserunner, and a flyout to center ended the inning. An errant throw allowed the only Ute runner of the second against Aceves, and the righty's second strikeout of the inning left that man stranded. Aceves worked his first perfect frame of the evening in the third, then picked off a runner in the fourth to face the minimum again, despite a two-out single. Aceves struck out the side in the fifth, allowed just a walk in the sixth (and fielded his position well for the final out), then picked up strikeout number 10 to start the seventh. With his pitch count touching triple digits after a one-out walk, Aceves walked off to a standing ovation after what was both the longest outing and biggest haul of K's in his career.
 
Chase Hoover took over on the mound, ended the seventh with a pair of strikeouts, then worked around a two-out walk in the eighth, thanks to Rowan Kelly tracking down a lineout to end the inning. Kelly nearly made an even better play to wrap up a shutout in the ninth, charging in on a dying liner that snuck just under his glove for a two-out RBI double. It would be the only run the Utes got across, as the next batter lined out to Noah Karliner in right to end the game.
 
With Aceves and Hoover nearly untouchable on the mound, the Gauchos' early offensive outburst had them in cruise control for much of the evening. Karliner narrowly missed his third home run of the season in the second, having to settle for a one-out, opposite-field double that hit about six inches from the top of the wall. He would come around to score anyway, as William Vasseur bounced an RBI single back up the middle, between the shortstop and second baseman's outstretched gloves. Max Stagg worked a two-out walk to keep the inning going and the Gauchos immediately capitalized, with Rowan Kelly's RBI single scoring Vasseur. Cade Goldstein's double over the head of Utah's right fielder then scored both Stagg and Kelly to put the home team up by four.
 
After some more two-out hitting put Gauchos on second and third in the third, Mendez delivered one of the most electric plays in baseball, with some help from Vasseur. The latter had taken such a big lead off of second base that he was practically begging for the Utes to try and pick him off. When they did, he managed to get back safely and Mendez bolted for the plate. Not only did the Utes fail to get Vasseur, but their attempt to do so took so long that Mendez had scored before they could even start throwing to home.
 
Santa Barbara's 5-0 lead was effectively insurmountable, but they added some insurance in the seventh for good measure. Nick Husovsky and Mendez led off with back-to-back singles to force a pitching change, with the new Utah arm immediately giving both Gauchos an extra 90 feet with a wild pitch. Vasseur was robbed of a hit by Ute centerfielder Jet Gilliam's diving catch in left center, though Husovsky was able to score on the play. Vargas added an RBI double to his solid night, scoring Mendez for the Gauchos' second consecutive seven-run game.
 
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara will look to complete the sweep when they meet the Utes in the final game of the series on Sunday, March 1 at 1:05 p.m. from Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. Tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets, and fans can catch all the action from anywhere, live on ESPN+.