A shutout on the mound and an Aaron Parker grand slam powered UCSB Baseball to a 6-0 win over the visiting UCLA Bruins on Tuesday at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
The victory for the Gauchos comes after a heartbreaking 13-12 defeat in 12 innings at the hands of the Bruins in Los Angeles the last time the two teams played each other in March.
UCSB relied on a pitching committee on Tuesday, throwing Frank Camarillo, Calvin Proskey, Reed Mooring and Jackson Flora, in that order.
Each Gaucho pitcher threw to the UCLA batting order exactly once before being relieved, which UCSB head coach Andrew Checketts did by design.
“Last time when we played [UCLA], we felt like when they got to that second time through [the batting order], they started to get some swings off,” Checketts said. “We just tried to give them a different look (today).”
Parker opened the game’s scoring in the second inning with a grand slam, driving in Jonah Sebring, Reiss Calvin and Jonathan Mendez.
“I saw one pitch: the fastball,” Parker said. “I just got lucky, I guess.”
In addition to UCSB’s pitching and defense stymieing UCLA’s offense, the Bruins made a number of head-scratching mistakes on the basepaths.
In the top of the first inning, UCLA’s Payton Brennan was thrown out by Nick Oakley, who relayed Ivan Brethowr’s throw to Justin Trimble while Brennan was trying to extend a double into a triple.
Brennan was thrown out again in the top of the third inning trying to score from first on Duce Gourson’s double into right-center field. Brethowr’s throw was cut off by Mendez, who then relayed to Parker at home plate in time to apply the tag on Brennan.
UCLA was also caught stealing twice by Parker, once in the third inning and again in the seventh inning.
The Bruins were spared an additional baserunning mishap by Tuesday’s umpiring crew in the top of the second inning.
UCSB’s Reiss Calvin, sliding on one knee, caught Roch Cholowsky’s hard-hit ball in left field, and then lost the ball transitioning from his glove to his throwing hand.
Jack Holmon, who stood on first base, thought Calvin had dropped the ball and advanced towards second.
Calvin quickly recovered the ball and threw it in to Oakley, who then chased down and doubled off Holmon, who had realized Cholowsky was called out and began retreating back to first base.
Bruins head coach John Savage challenged the call that determined Calvin had secured the catch and lost the ball on the transition.
After video review, the umpiring crew overturned the call, judging Calvin to have not secured the catch, and awarding Holmon second base and Cholowsky first base, thus taking away a double play from the Gauchos.
However, in true “ball don’t lie” fashion, Cashel Dugger grounded into an inning-ending double play the very next at-bat.
The Gauchos added one insurance run in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Brendan Durfee drew a walk in the bottom of the seventh inning, and then advanced to second base after Oakley was hit by a pitch. Durfee then came around to score when Zander Darby doubled into center field.
Jonah Sebring then led off the bottom of the eighth inning by reaching first base on a dropped third strike and a throwing error from Dugger, the UCLA catcher.
Calvin bunted Sebring to second base, who then advanced to third when Mendez grounded into a fielder’s choice. Sebring came around to score when Durfee grounded into what would have been a double play if not for him out-hustling the throw to first base.
Having swept their five game homestand, the Gauchos will now embark on a four-game road trip that begins with a Big West series against UC Davis this weekend.