SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – No. 2 UCLA suffered its first loss of the 2020 season on Tuesday night at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, falling 8-5 to UC Santa Barbara.
The Bruins (11-1) were led on offense by sophomore catcher Noah Cardenas, who went 2-5 with an RBI double. The loss snapped the fifth-longest winning streak in program history.
Sophomore righty Sean Mullen was a standout on the mound for UCLA, facing the minimum over 2 1/3 innings of relief and striking out four.
UCSB (10-2) went up early after scoring in the bottom of the first, but the two teams went back-and-forth over the middle innings. The Bruins ultimately would score in three consecutive frames starting in the third, resulting in a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.
The Gauchos produced a decisive four-run rally in the bottom half of that frame, with two runs coming in on bases-loaded walks and another two scoring on a single from Mason Marquez.
Junior DH Jarron Silva opened the scoring for the Bruins in the top of the third, tying the game with an opposite field single that plated Mikey Perez.
The Bruins took their first lead of the game their next time up with a two-spot. Freshman first baseman JT Schwartz worked a leadoff walk to start the inning, scoring later when a throw from UCSB shortstop McLain O'Connor was airmailed over the first baseman's head.
Junior second baseman RJ Teijeiro – making his first start of the year – later brought in Cuellar by bouncing an RBI single through the right side. Cardenas closed UCLA's scoring streak with an RBI double in the fifth, ripping a one-hopper over the head of the diving UCSB third baseman to score Silva.
UCSB was led on offense by Christian Kirtley, who went 3-4 with an RBI. Junior righty Connor Roberts earned the win with four innings of two-hit, shutout relief.
UCLA starter Jared Karros went four-plus innings, giving up four hits and three earned runs.
The Bruins return to action this week with the Southern California College Baseball Classic, featuring Vanderbilt, TCU, and USC. UCLA opens the tournament against No. 5 Vandy on Friday at 6:00 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium