Baseball secures a victory over CSU Bakersfield. Courtesy of UCSB Athletics.

The UC Santa Barbara men’s baseball team picked up a close one against the California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners on Saturday, May 2, 4-3 in the win. They avoided a late scare from CSUB to place the first two games of the series in the win column. The Gauchos, ranked No. 2 in the Big West Conference standings, will look to continue this momentum into Game 3. 

In the first game on Friday, May 1, the Gauchos beat CSUB 18-1 in an absolutely dominant performance, with 18 runs on 18 hits. The Gauchos began with an early barrage, scoring five runs in the first inning alone. Sophomore left-fielder Liam Barrett showed out in the win, logging four hits and three runs on five at-bats. Junior starting pitcher Jackson Flora also shined, pitching five scoreless innings to boost UCSB’s offensive explosion. The Gauchos capped off their avalanche with a double from senior catcher Nate Vargas leading into unearned runs for Barrett and senior shortstop Corey Nunez. This would end a 5-run top of the sixth inning to put the Gauchos up 16-0. The Roadrunners had no response.

The second game was much closer, as the Gauchos found less luck hitting and tumultuous relief pitching from junior Cole Tryba. Vargas stood out once again in this one, sending a double to left center field that brought Barrett home and scoring himself off a bunt to put UCSB up 2-0 after just half an inning. CSUB responded in the form of a solo home run from senior first-baseman Evan Cloyd, but quality infielding from the Gauchos held the lead to 1 after the first inning. 

UCSB continued rolling, taking advantage of a Nunez single in the second inning and double in the fourth to go up 4-1 going into the fifth. Nunez posted an impressive statline at one run, three hits and three RBIs on five at-bats. Tryba had a quick scare in the form of a two RBI double from Roadrunner senior shortstop Elijah Pelayo to make the score 4-3, but junior pitcher Chase Hoover came out and rode the Gauchos’ defense to the tight victory.  

These wins provide UCSB with some wiggle room as they fight for first place in the Big West Conference. They will host Pepperdine University on Tuesday, May 5, before traveling to the California State University, Northridge for their next weekend series.