Siavash Ghadiri / Daily Nexus

UC Santa Barbara men’s baseball record: 31-18 (21-11)

 

UC Riverside men’s baseball record: 14-29 (12-24)

 

Tale of the Tape:

 

The tough stretch is out of the way…

Playing the second-to-last-place Highlanders couldn’t have come at a better time for the UCSB men’s baseball team. Coming off of two difficult opponents — UC Los Angeles, who was ranked inside the top 25 nationally, and UC Irvine, who was atop of the Big West, Riverside will be a change of pace. The Gauchos have faced some stout pitching in their previous five losses, so look for the bats to wake up in the upcoming series.

 

Playing spoiler for the Gauchos…

UC Riverside has had a disappointing season thus far, holding a record of 12-24 in conference play and 2-5 outside of the conference. Currently on a 9-game losing streak, their disappointing record will offer them some momentum going into the tail end of their season. Also, with the Gauchos still within striking distance of the conference lead, the Highlanders have a real shot at ending the Gauchos’ quest to become the Big West Conference champions. 

 

Series Implications:

 

Closing the gap at the top of the conference…

With the Gauchos losing their previous series to UC Irvine, they will need help from Cal State Bakersfield in their own series against Irvine. If the Gauchos do get help from Bakersfield, and do their own part by sweeping the Highlanders, they will have a real shot at the conference title in the last weekend of conference play. On the other hand, the Highlanders have dug themselves a big hole with their .333 winning percentage. Their best-case scenario is upsetting the Gauchos in the series to move up to seventh in the conference. 

 

Players to watch from UCSB:

 

Michael McGreevy…

Starting pitcher Michael McGreevy has had quite the season and is looking to carry momentum from the UCLA game, in which he picked up his seventh win against a nationally ranked team while giving up just one run and striking out 12 batters. 

 

Zach Rodriguez…

Rodriguez’s hitting stats in conference are simply amazing. He leads the team in runs batted in by a clear margin, with 34 RBIs, and has a .541 slugging in conference play.

 

Carter Benbrook…

Benbrook has been the go-to guy out of the bullpen, whether that be in long relief or for a save. In 30 innings pitched, he posts a 2.10 ERA while having a 12.00 K/9 ratio.

 

Players to watch from UCR

 

Dylan Orick…

Number 35 has put on quite the hitting clinic for UCR this season. Over 42 games, he boasts a .469 slugging percentage and 76 total bases to lead the team, and he is second in RBIs with 27 on the season.

 

Travis Bohall…

UCR doesn’t have many stolen bases on the season, but Bohall has been a menace on the basepaths, swiping 15 of the team’s 26 total stolen bases. 

 

Pitching staff…

As a whole, the UCR staff have had a rough year. Boasting a team ERA of 7.18 and having an opponent batting average of .322, they will need to step up to upset UCSB. 

 

When and where to watch the games…

 

Game 1: Friday, May 21, at 6 p.m.

 

Game 2: Saturday, May 22, at 12 p.m.

 

Game 3: Saturday, May 22, at 3 p.m.

 

Game 4: Sunday, May 23, at 1 p.m.

 

All games will be away at the Riverside Sports Complex.

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