The Gaucho dugout celebrates after scoring a run. Courtesy of UCSB Baseball

April 10: The Friday series opener showcased a pitcher’s duel, as junior ace pitcher Jackson Flora faced off with Triton starter Steele Murdock. While Flora was playing well, a run in the fifth ended his impressive scoreless streak, and defensive mistakes overshadowed his effort. UCSD took advantage of this with a three-run seventh inning to take control. Senior catcher Nate Vargas provided nearly all of the Gauchos’ offense, hitting a solo home run and later adding an RBI double in the ninth inning. Despite bringing the tying run to second, UCSB fell just short in a 4-3 loss.

April 11: The Gauchos bounced back on Saturday in a tight, high scoring game that ended in extras. Vargas continued to dominate on offense, starting the Gauchos off with a two-run homer helping UCSB create a 6-1 lead.  However, UCSD responded with a surge of offense, highlighted by a grand slam in the eighth inning that flipped the game and put the Gauchos on the brink of a second straight loss.

Down 10-7 in the ninth inning, UCSB did not back down. Junior infielder Jonathan Mendez started the rally with a solo home run, and the motivated offense crawled back to tie the game and forced extras. Freshman pitcher Josh Jannicelli gave the Gauchos three clutch innings out of the bullpen to keep the Tritons in reach. In the 11th inning, Junior infielder Xavier Esquer ended the game with a walk-off RBI single, giving UCSB a 11-10 victory.

“I thought Josh Jannicelli was awesome today. He came in with a runner on second and nobody out, was able to get that thing stopped, and then pitched fantastic. That was his first collegiate win, so that was certainly a highlight for the bullpen,” Head Coach Andrew Checketts said.

April 12: Sunday’s game was highlighted by a pitching performance from senior right-hander Kellan Montgomery. Montgomery allowed just one earned run during eight innings while striking out nine, retiring the final 13 batters he faced. After a solo home run in the fourth from UCSD, Montgomery kept composure and controlled the game. The Gauchos won the game with a two-run double in the seventh and a solo homer in the eighth from sophomore outfielder Liam Barrett.

Using the momentum from a series win, the Gauchos will face off against UC Irvine on April 17.