NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — The hard way is hardly how the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (32-15, 17-8 Big West) expects to win with ace pitcher
Jackson Flora on the mound, but when the Gauchos had to put in the extra work against CSUN (24-24, 11-14 Big West) on Friday night, they rolled their sleeves right up and did it. No one got their elbows greasier than
Chase Hoover, who delivered a pivotal four innings of scoreless relief that allowed the offense to go about building what would end up as an 8-4 win for Santa Barbara.
Liam Barrett and
Rowan Kelly were the chief architects on offense for the Gauchos; Barrett finished 3-for-6 from the leadoff spot, with three runs scored, while Kelly went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the first time all season, Flora allowed more than two runs and did not get out of the fifth inning. The Matadors loaded the bases before making an out against the nation's ERA leader in the first, though Flora got out of it with just one run against him. However, CSUN got two more runs against Flora in the second, with a trio of singles.
Thankfully for the Gauchos, the offense picked up their pitcher in a big way in the top of the third.
Xavier Esquer led off with a single, and a pair of one-out hits from Barrett and
Corey Nunez loaded the bases.
Nate Vargas brought home Santa Barbara's first run of the evening by walking, then Kelly drove a single off the wall in right field to cut the Gauchos' deficit to just one.
William Vasseur flipped the script with his two-RBI single into left field, giving the Blue and Gold their first lead of the night, 4-3.
Working with a lead, Flora looked like his usual self in the third and fourth, retiring the side in order in both frames. In the fourth, he struck out the side. A solo home run tied the game again in the top of the fifth and a single ended his evening, with Hoover asked to play the role of fireman again. He allowed one hit but got out of the fifth with the game still tied, and he kept it that way in the sixth with a perfect inning.
In the top of the seventh, Barrett led off with a single, moved into scoring position on Nunez's sacrifice bunt, then scored on Kelly's RBI base hit to put the Gauchos back on top, 5-4. Hoover was perfect again in the bottom of the seventh, and the offense gave him a bunch of insurance in the eighth.
Noah Karliner's double started the rally, scoring when Barrett reached on a fielding error. Vargas brought home Barrett, then Kelly hit his third RBI single of the night to plate Santa Barbara's eighth run of the game.
Hoover was perfect again in the bottom of the eighth and returned to the mound for the ninth, though his night ended after a pair of one-out walks.
Josh Jannicelli took over with the tying run on deck but made sure it never came to the plate, getting the final two outs with a flyout and a groundout.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos and Matadors return to action from Northridge on Saturday, with first pitch in game two of the series set for 2 p.m.
