Isabel Thornton / Daily Nexus

The UC Santa Barbara baseball team took on the California State University, Fresno Bulldogs at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, winning the March 1 night game 3-1 and the March 2 afternoon game with an 8-7 walk off in the 10th inning. 

The beginning of the March 1 game was marked by dominant pitching from both sides, with the Gauchos’ junior pitcher Tyler Bremner starting and holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the first inning. The Gauchos were unable to put up any runs in the bottom of the first, but following a diving catch by sophomore right fielder Rex DeAngelis to save the Bulldogs from scoring in the second, were able to hold off the Bulldogs. 

In the third inning, the Bulldogs were able to strike first, scoring a run off a double to right field, giving them an early lead of 1-0. The Gauchos were able to return the favor in the fifth inning, however, with junior shortstop Corey Nunez singling to right field and then being driven home with a two-run home run by Gaucho sophomore third baseman Xavier Esquer, putting the Gauchos up 2-1.

Bremner was able to shut down nine straight Bulldog hitters in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before handing the ball to sophomore pitcher Nic Peterson, who was also able to keep the Bulldogs from encroaching on the Gauchos’ lead in the top of the eighth inning. UCSB was able to score once again in the bottom half of the inning on a balk by Fresno State’s pitcher before holding Fresno State again in the bottom of the ninth, making the final score 3-1, with UCSB securing the opening game win. 

Saturday afternoon’s game started with UCSB’s sophomore pitcher Jackson Flora reaching 100 miles per hour and shutting down Fresno State in the first inning. With two outs in the bottom of the first, the Gauchos were able to put up six runs thanks to a single from the junior designated hitter Nate Vargas, allowing sophomore second baseman Jonathan Mendez to score, followed closely by a single from Nunez, with senior center fielder LeTrey McCollum and DeAngelis scoring to end out the inning and put UCSB up 6-0.

Fresno State started to chip away at UCSB’s lead in the second inning, scoring two runs before keeping UCSB from scoring any more in the bottom of the second inning and the third. The Bulldogs were able to strike again in the fourth and fifth innings, placing them in the lead 7-6 against the Gauchos going into the bottom of the fifth inning.

UCSB was able to tie it up in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a double by McCollum to score Vargas, making it 7-7. The sixth inning saw a new pitcher for the Gauchos, junior pitcher Donovann Jackson, who was able to keep the Bulldogs from scoring any more. UCSB would go on to use two more pitchers in the ninth inning — freshman pitcher Nathan Aceves and freshman pitcher Van Froling — as they attempted to end the game before extra innings. 

The game was extended into the tenth inning, as the Gauchos were unable to score in the bottom of the ninth despite having the bases loaded with two outs, but Froling was able to keep the Bulldogs at bay in the top of the tenth. DeAngelis was hit by a pitch, and a double by Esquer meant UCSB was able to walk the game off in the bottom of the tenth, winning 8-7. 

With these victories, the Gauchos’ record moves to 9-1 for the season. UCSB baseball is back at home on March 7 for a weekend series against California State University, Northridge for their Big West Conference opener.