IRVINE, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (25-12, 12-6 Big West) hung seven runs on the board early, then hung on to that lead late, squashing a UC Irvine (17-21, 8-10 Big West) rally for an 8-4 win. With it, the Gauchos secured their first series win over the Anteaters since 2022 and its second win on national television this week. Xavier Esquer, Jonathan Mendez and Colin Beazizo led the offensive outburst, while Cole Tryba delivered what is now becoming a customary long relief outing to earn the win. When things got hairy late, AJ Krodel cleaned up to earn his fourth save of the year.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Santa Barbara has long known it has two center fielders in Rowan Kelly and Colin Beazizo, but after this weekend head coach Andrew Checketts can be comfortable deploying either of them in the leadoff spot of the batting order. Beazizo hit .364/.462/.636 in that top spot over the weekend, including a lead-off double on Sunday. The usual lead-off man, Kelly, drove Beazizo home with an RBI single, then stole second and scored on Mendez' RBI base knock.  
 
With a 2-0 lead before he even took the field, the Gauchos' veteran workhorse Kellan Montgomery had no problem saddling up and ploughing his way through the Anteater bats. The senior put Irvine down in order on just 11 pitches in the bottom of the first, then watched his squad manufacture another run of cushion in the second. The bottom of the order got the job done with three straight singles, Corey Nunez's of the infield variety to lead things off and Esquer's of the RBI variety to bring him home.
 
Montgomery delivered another shutdown inning to keep the momentum in Santa Barbara's hands, winning a 13-pitch battle to start the bottom of the second, then striking out the next batter on just three pitches. And again, he got to put his feet up and watch the bats work in the top of the third. Liam Barrett's hard-hit double to right helped load the bases, and Esquer cleared them with a double to deep center field, narrowly missing a grand slam. Beazizo brought Esquer home with an RBI single, and the Gauchos were up by a touchdown.
 
Another long break did not bother Montgomery, who left two Anteaters stranded on base in the bottom of the third, ending that inning with a strikeout. The fourth was the first inning in which Santa Barbara failed to score and Irvine was able to put numbers on the board, doing so with a two-run homer. Some thrilling defense kept the damage from getting any worse. Kelly nearly made a diving catch in center, but even after the ball bounced off his glove, Barrett started a relay home through Nunez and Nate Vargas that was in plenty of time for the run-saving out. Montgomery's day ended after walking the first batter of the fifth, with Tryba summoned to replace him and for the second inning in a row, the Gaucho defense ended the inning with a highlight play. This time it was Beazizo, ranging to the very limit of foul ground in left field, reaching up and making the catch against the fence of Irvine's bullpen.
 
Beazizo got to lead off the following inning and was hit by a pitch, then quickly took second on what was his third advancement on a wild pitch of the afternoon, a showcase of aggressive baserunning. He would later earn himself a triple by attacking the basepaths in the top of the eighth. But first, he had a run to score in the sixth. He made it to third on a groundout, then came home on Kelly's sacrifice fly, bringing the Gauchos' lead back up to six at 8-2.
 
Tryba made that lead stick through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings but was tagged for a lead-off home run in the ninth. His day ended with the bases loaded and two outs, a spot from which the Anteaters did walk home their fourth run before Krodel entered. It took him three pitches to induce the game-ending groundout.
 
With the win and results elsewhere, the Gauchos move into first place in The Big West standings with four weeks left to play, sharing the same record as Cal Poly and UC San Diego but holding the tiebreaker over both of those teams.
 
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara completes its four-game road trip with a stop in Riverside for a rare Monday game, paying a visit to California Baptist, which has received votes in multiple ranking polls. Calvin Proskey is set to start on the mound for the Gauchos, with first pitch from James W. Totman Stadium scheduled for 5 p.m. Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+ or by following along with live stats and a free, audio-only broadcast at ucsbgauchos.com.