SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Leah Brito's two-run double in the ninth inning broke open an otherwise tight series finale, but it was enough to help UC Riverside clinch its second straight Big West series win in a 5-2 win at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at Campus Diamond.  

UCR has now won five of its last seven games after its second consecutive series victory while also finishing the six-game road trip with a 4-2 record. The Highlanders have also won four of the last five series with UC Santa Barbara dating back to 2018. 

Pitcher's duels were the storyline for both sides as Brooke Perez took the circle for UCR following her stellar performance in the Highlanders' Friday game two win. The Gauchos struck first in the fourth, though the lead was short-lived before Gigi Araki went long for the second time this weekend with a fifth-inning solo shot to center. 

Araki's blast was her third career in Santa Barbara after homering in the 2021 series finale at Campus Diamond. 

Marissa Burk reached safely for the third straight game - her second hit of the series - recording a leadoff single in the eighth before moving to second on a wild pitch. UCR later capitalized on a bases-loaded situation after Rebeca Cabezas was hit and walked in the go-ahead run. 

Maddie Heinlin entered the circle in the eighth to start extra frames, running into danger but getting out of it unscathed to record the win. Burk walked again in the ninth to put two runners on with one out, later scoring on an error after Jackie Alday's infield single. Alday got back to her on-base ways after having an 11-game on-base streak snapped, and Leah Brito broke the game wide open with a two-run double to left center.

UC Riverside's final series of the season against CSU Bakersfield will begin on Friday, May 12 with a doubleheader against the Roadrunners starting at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+.