SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (12-2, 3-0 Big West) collected its fair share of bruises and dirty uniforms on Sunday, but they also earned the best detergent for washing those things away: a 6-2 win and sweep of the Long Beach State Dirtbags (4-11, 0-3 Big West). The Gauchos erased a third consecutive 2-0 deficit with six unanswered runs, including scoring on two hit batters, a wild pitch and a balk. Kellan Montgomery got the win with six solid innings of work against his former team, while the Santa Barbara bullpen continued to handle tough situations with aplomb. AJ Krodel twice left the bases loaded en route to his third save of the season.
 
FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS
"Three hard-fought baseball games, welcome to conference play," Checketts said. "Records aren't going to matter when you go into it, everybody's well-coached in the league and has enough talent to beat you, so they put a lot of pressure on us early. They were up 2-0 every game against us, so I thought our guys did a great job of hanging in there, not panicking, especially (Jackson) Flora and Montgomery, who weren't super sharp, ended up settling in and getting six giving up two, having quality starts. Bullpen guys did a good job, skin of our teeth there a little bit, too many baserunners there at the end, but in general, good effort from the guys. The defense was good, some really good plays up the middle with (Jonathan) Mendez and (Corey) Nunez there that allowed us to get some stops."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After giving up two runs in the first inning on both Friday and Saturday nights, the Gauchos were determined to start Sunday on a better foot, with the defense making a big play to keep the visitors off the board. Jonathan Mendez and Corey Nunez combined to start a 6-4-3 double play after the first two Dirtbags reached, with Montgomery's first of eight strikeouts getting the Gauchos out of the inning unscathed.
 
But the two-run deficit eventually showed up again, with a wild pitch helping set up a sacrifice fly in the third and a home run doubling the visitors' lead in the fourth. But again, it did not take long at all for the Santa Barbara offense to pick up their pitcher with yet another two-out rally. A two-out walk to Nick Husovsky gave the never-say-die Gauchos all the window they needed to get things going, with back-to-back singles driving in the first run, then back-to-back hit batters forcing home the game-tying second.
 
With run support like that to help him settle, Montgomery made quick work of the Dirtbags in the fifth, striking out two as part of a perfect frame, getting the Gaucho bats up while they were still hot. A pair of infield singles helped load the bases in the fifth, and yet another hit batter with two outs forced home the go-ahead run. William Vasseur, who is hitting a whopping .615 with two outs, came through again with an RBI single into right. A good throw home was the only thing that kept Vasseur from collecting a second RBI on the play, with Santa Barbara having to settle for just the 4-2 lead.
 
Montgomery punched out two more Dirtbags for another perfect frame in the sixth, his final action of the afternoon. Fellow Santa Barbara native Chase Hoover picked up where Montgomery left off, starting his day with a three-pitch K before twice fielding his position well for another perfect frame.
 
The Gauchos extended their lead with some chaos on the basepaths in the bottom of the sixth after Nate Vargas became the fourth Santa Barbara hitter to be plunked on the afternoon. He would eventually be thrown out on a failed sacrifice bunt, but Nunez stole third and, with the play still live after Nunez's swipe, Rowan Kelly took second to achieve the same effect: two Gauchos in scoring position with two outs. A wild pitch allowed Nunez to come home for the fifth run of the game.
 
That three-run cushion looked like it was going to be necessary in the top of the eighth, as the Dirtbags loaded the bases with just one out. Krodel was called to extinguish the fire, which he did with just two pitches. After delivering a first-pitch strike, Krodel got a tailor-made double-play ball, with Mendez and Nunez completing the turn to end the inning.
 
Nunez was up to more baserunning mischief in the bottom of the eighth, starting with a triple over the centerfielder's head. With the Gauchos' second baseman very loudly taking a big lead off of third base, the Long Beach pitcher was goaded into a mistake and called for a balk, granting Nunez the free trip home.
 
The top of the ninth was therefore set up to be a cruise, but Krodel seemingly wanted the extra motivation of loaded bases. A couple of walks, one on a very close pitch with two outs, filled the bags with Dirtbags, only for Krodel to get the middle infield involved one last time, Mendez tossing to Nunez for the final out.
 
FROM THE STUDENT ATHLETES
"I mean, I tried to keep it the same as any other weekend, tried not to turn it into anything too big or two small," Montgomery said of facing his former team. "Obviously, it was good to see some old friends after the game and just during the weekend, but really just trying to keep it all the same.
 
"Nothing different, same mission as always. No matter how I did, I was just hoping we could get the win and get that sweep."
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will conclude their eight-game homestand on Tuesday, March 10, when they host Saint Mary's at 4:35 p.m. Next weekend, Santa Barbara will head up to UC Davis for their final visit to Dobbins Stadium as Big West conference foes, March 13-15.