Gauchos are known for wrangling herds of cattle, but on Saturday, the UCSB Gauchos wrangled a flock of Ducks on home turf. No. 17 Oregon baseball (22-5, 7-2 Big Ten) lost to UC Santa Barbara (16-8, 5-4 Big West ) 8-2 today behind a pedestrian outing from starting pitcher Collin Clarke (5 IP, 4 K, 2 ER, 5 H) and lackluster offense buoyed by a pair of fifth-inning RBI singles from Dominic Hellman and Drew Smith. 

The Ducks got off to a slow start through the first two innings, with only one hit against Gauchos starter Nathan Aceves in that stretch. Clarke had similar results until a throwing error from Ryan Cooney put a runner on first and scored a run from second. A wild pitch soon after sent second baseman Ryan Severns home to give UCSB an early two-run lead.

The Ducks struggled against Aceves through the middle of the fifth, striking out six times with only three hits in that stretch. Oregon was making some contact, sending multiple balls to the warning track, but just couldn’t put the ball over the wall.

With two outs in the fifth, Cooney singled through the right side before Jax Gimenez advanced him to third on another single to put runners at the corners. Hellman and Smith put the Ducks on the board with back-to-back RBI singles to tie it up at two runs apiece.

Hellman (1-4, RBI) and Smith (1-4, RBI, 3 SO) have been two of the Big Ten’s best hitters this season, with Smith ranking second in batting average (.407), fifth in RBI (33) and sixth in home runs (9). Hellman ranks seventh in home runs, just behind Smith with eight.

The Gauchos responded quickly with a leadoff ground-rule double from right fielder Rowan Kelly, which set up an RBI single from designated hitter Xavier Esquer later in the inning to retake the lead. Colin Beazizo extended the lead shortly after with an RBI double to center field to give UCSB a two-run lead. 

A scary collision between Clarke and left fielder Mitch Namie on the first base path at the end of the fifth ended Clarke’s day on the mound and brought on Michael Meckna to kick off the bottom of the sixth. 

The Ducks could not wake up the bats in the final innings, which plummeted Oregon’s momentum. Poor relief pitching from Blake Crawford, Luke Uelmen, and Cooper Markham in the bottom of the eighth allowed the Gauchos to extend their lead by four runs to take the second game of the series 8-2.

Oregon will play its final game against UCSB tomorrow, March 29, at 12:05 p.m. at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.