RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside kicked off its final home series of 2022 at Amy S. Harrison Field with a doubleheader against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, dropping game one 8-2 before bouncing back with a 6-3 win in game two. 

Back-to-back walks from Lauryn Garewal and Haylee Kela in the first inning of game one set up movement on the base path after Marissa Burk reached on a fielder's choice to shift runners to second and third. Gigi Araki brought Burk and Kela home on an RBI double for an early 2-0 lead. 

UC Santa Barbara controlled the rest of the game to take game one from the Highlanders despite Lauryn Garewal stretching her on-base streak to 18 games. 

Jantzen Owen hit safely for the third time in her last four games in the back end of the doubleheader, going 1 for 2 with UCR's final insurance run in the sixth inning. Owen and Araki were both hit to lead off the second inning before Araki scored on an error by the Gaucho catcher to open the scoring. 

Santa Barbara tied game two at one apiece and went ahead twice, but UC Riverside kept punching back until Kela broke things open with a two-run shot in the fifth inning, her fourth home run of the season. The Highlanders tacked on two more insurance runs for a four-run fifth that sealed the doubleheader split. 

UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara will finish the three-game series with a 12:00 p.m. rubber match on Mother's Day.