UCR Drops Game Two to Gauchos

Friday, May 15

Santa Barbara, CA

4:35 pm

UC Riverside

15-36, 10-19

UC Santa Barbara

36-16, 21-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UC Riverside	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	1	5	6	1
UC Santa Barbara	5	0	1	0	4	3	0	2	X	15	12	2

5/15/2026 9:23:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Highlanders and Gauchos squared off in game two of the final series of 2026. Matthew O'Brien got the call for UCR making his 14th start on the year. Unfortunately for the lefty, he took the loss as UCR fell 15-5 to UC Santa Barbara.

UCSB scored five times in the first on a pair of home runs with Xavier Esquer hitting a grand slam. The Gauchos scored another in the bottom of the third making it 6-0.

The Highlanders got on the board in the top of the fifth when Esteban Sepulveda singled home Jaxon Byrd. Byrd led off the inning after being hit and eventually advanced to third on an Andrew Rivas fly out to deep center.

After UCR scored the Gauchos came back and scored four more times in the bottom of the fifth to make it 10-1. Two more homers in the inning, including a three run shot by Esquer, put the game out of reach. Then three more runs came across for UCSB in the bottom of the sixth to make it 13-1.

The Highlanders showed some life in the top of the seventh. Robert Pitts led the inning off with a ground rule double and Rivas followed with a four pitch walk. Pitts eventually scored on an infield single by Miles Scott making it 13-2. Lucas Bonham then followed with a double down the left field line scoring both Scott and Manoah Chapman. The inning ended with UCR trailing 13-4.

Trailing 15-4 in the top of the ninth UCR scored on Esteban Sepulveda's second homer of the year and that is where it ended.

Up next is the season finale at 1:05PM. You can watch it on ESPN+.