UCSB baseball players celebrate on the field after winning the Big West Regular Season title. Courtesy of Daily Nexus.

The UC Santa Barbara baseball team notched three wins against the UC Riverside Highlanders over the weekend and finished the season having won 10 of their last 11 games. The Gauchos have officially cemented first place in the Big West Conference standings going into the championship tournament and logged another successful season under Head Coach of 15-years Andrew Checketts. 

The Gauchos delivered a tight 1-0 win on Thursday, May 14 against the Highlanders in what will most likely be star junior pitcher Jackson Flora’s last home start for UCSB. Flora absolutely excelled in the game, pitching his third career complete game shutout and neutralizing the Highlander’s offense. Conversely, the Gaucho hitters really struggled to get going, posting only 3 hits for a .120 batting average on the game. 

UCSB’s saving grace came in the form of their lone home run in the third inning. Senior catcher Nate Vargas stepped up to the plate as the first hitter of the bottom of the third and delivered a bomb that reached all the way to the scoreboard. Key fielding from senior shortstop Corey Nunez saved a late scare in the eighth inning, and the Gauchos escaped 1-0. 

On Friday, May 15, UCSB returned to the stadium and this time, the offense was firing on all cylinders. The Gauchos came out on top with a score of 15-5, leaving little breathing room for the Highlanders who were forced to play from behind the entire game. The batting average saw significant improvement, with the Gauchos recording 12 hits for a .342 total. 

Junior third-baseman Xavier Esquer shone for UCSB, hitting two home runs and logging a whopping seven RBIs. The most impressive came early after three walks set up Esquer to destroy his very first pitch of the game and send the home crowd roaring with a grand slam. Seven Gauchos managed to score in this one, with graduate first-baseman Nick Husovsky capping it off in the 8th inning with a double to send two of his teammates home and cement UCSB’s dominant win. 

On Saturday, May 16, the Gauchos overcame an early deficit to finish their season in the win column, 5-3. In the top of the second inning, two UCR singles set up sophomore catcher Esteban Sepulveda for a home run to left field, driving in two Highlanders and setting the score at 3-0. However, UCR didn’t score again, as combined pitching efforts from senior Kellan Montgomery and junior Chase Hoover shut the Highlanders out for the rest of the game. 

As a result, UCSB baseball recorded their sixth regular-season Conference Championship in program history. They went 22-8 in the Conference and 37-16 overall for a stunning .733 win percentage. They will move on to the Big West Conference tournament at Anteater Ballpark in Irvine, California and look to secure a guaranteed NCAA tournament bid with a win. They will play the winner of the No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed game on Thursday, May 21 at 1 p.m.