![]() That series was sandwiched between a pair of mid-week games against Pepperdine, both of which CSUN won, making them 4-1 in their last five games. The Matadors opened Big West play against UC Davis last weekend, taking two of three games from the Aggies in Davis. After being picked to finish seventh in The Big West Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Matadors come into the weekend in third place in the conference standings and with the second-best overall record to this point in the season. 371 for the team lead.ĬSUN has exceeded expectations to start the season. 362 average is behind only Jonah Sebring’s. Aaron Parker is right behind Brethowr with five long balls, and he leads the team in both slugging (.690) and on-base percentage (.439) at this point in the season. LeTrey McCollum’s team-high seven stolen bases are also the second-most in The Big West, and Ivan Brethowr’s six home runs lead the team and conference. Eight different Gauchos have multiple steals on the season, and seven have multiple home runs. When it comes to getting run support for their dominant pitchers, the UCSB offense relies on speed and power, leading The Big West in stolen bases (35) and home runs (27). Gaucho pitching also leads The Big West in total strikeouts (193), batting average against (.207) and home runs allowed (7). UCSB also ranks ninth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.39) and WHIP (1.10). The Gauchos’ 2.64 team ERA is the fifth-best in all of Division I baseball, and the best of any mid-major program in the country. UCSB has one of the most electric offenses in The Big West and one of the best pitching staffs in the country. UCSB has won each of the last three series (the 2020 series was cancelled due to COVID-19). ![]() The Gauchos hold a 92-63-3 record against CSUN, and have won six of the last seven games, including a three-game series sweep in Northridge last April. The Matadors are one of UCSB’s most frequent opponents ever, with the two teams facing off a total of 158 times prior to this weekend. Mike Gutierrez pitched seven excellent innings to help UCSB take a 5-0 victory in the Friday opener, Christian Kirtley drove in three runs to power Saturday’s 4-2 win, and Ivan Brethowr completed a Sunday comeback with a walk-off single as the Gauchos turned a 3-0 deficit into a 5-4 win. Playing their first Big West games of the season last weekend, the Gauchos got the start they wanted to conference play, sweeping a three-game series against CSU Bakersfield. The games will be live on ESPN+ with an audio-only broadcast and live stats both available through. This weekend, the UCSB Athletic Department is offering a Spring Break Special with students of all ages receiving free admission to every game of this series. After sweeping their opening series last weekend, the Gauchos come into this weekend atop The Big West standings, with the Matadors in third, as CSUN has enjoyed a strong start to their season as well. UCSB baseball (15-3, 3-0 Big West) will look to keep their perfect start to conference play rolling this weekend, as they welcome the upstart CSUN Matadors (12-4, 2-1 Big West) to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for a three-game series.
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