BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (27-15, 13-8 Big West) hits the road this weekend to face the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (20-25, 9-12), before returning home for a mid-week matchup against Pepperdine (17-26, 9-12 WCC) on Tuesday. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos will look to bounce back after losing last weekend's series 1-2 against Cal State Fullerton. The Gauchos opened the weekend with a 8-3 win on Friday night, as William Vasseur, Xavier Esquer, and Nate Vargas each homered, with Vargas doing it twice. And it was business as usual for Jackson Flora, who earned his eighth-straight win of the season with eight K's through six innings. In game two, the Gauchos lost narrowly 7-9, before losing the decider 1-6 on Sunday. Over the weekend, Nate Vargas led the Gauchos with 5 RBIs against the Titans. 

After defeating No. 1 UCLA two weeks prior, the Gauchos faced the Bruins again on Tuesday night, this time losing 3-15. Noah Karliner crushed two home runs in front of a sold-out crowd at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, but it was simply not enough to beat the top team in the nation. 

The Gauchos now sit at fourth in the Big West with a 13-8 conference record. 

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
Cal State Bakersfield, who are tied for seventh in the Big West, head into Friday's match on a three-game win streak. After taking the weekend series against UC Riverside 2-1, the Roadrunners defeated Pacific handily 17-4 on Tuesday. The Roadrunners are led by Big West Field Player of the Week Elijah Pelayo, who scored nine runs hitting .556 across four games last week. Jacob May also had a stand-out week, going 8-for-17 with 8 RBIs on the week. 

On the mound, the Roadrunners' rotation begins with Ryan King on Friday, followed by Ethan Minaker on Saturday, and Shane McAlinden on Sunday. Minaker, the Big West Pitcher of the Week, threw for six innings and shutout UC Riverside 10-0 last Saturday.

SCOUTING THE WAVES
Pepperdine had a strong showing last week, defeating Cal Poly on Tuesday and sweeping their weekend series against Seattle. Trey Dunn homered every game of the Seattle series, while Joshua Woodworth had 4 RBIs against Cal Poly. 

For midweek matches, the Waves typically go to pitchers Jackson Pace, Jack Fowler, or Austin Plisinski. Most recently, the Waves went to Jack Fowler for his second career start last Tuesday, who allowed two hits in three innings. 

FOLLOW ALONG
First pitch times against Cal State Bakersfield are set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday. On Tuesday, the match against Pepperdine will begin at 4:35 p.m. Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+ or follow along with live stats at ucsbgauchos.com/BSBLiveStats.