The real HarbourCats of Santa Barbara - Feb 28 edition

Winning the 50/50 raffle at a sold-out sporting event would be something, but splitting a four-game weekend series at home is “like kissing your sister” according to UCSB coach Andrew Checketts. The Gauchos easily defeated the University of San Fransico “Dons” 6-1 on Friday night, but lost both games of a doubleheader on Saturday by a combined score of 15-6. They bounced back with a 6-2 win on Sunday to salvage the series split. Unfortunately, UCSB got thumped on Tuesday by the 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins, dropping their record to 4-4 on the season.

Freshman reliever Connor Baits continues to get plenty of chances to pitch, as he appeared in four of the five games this past week. The high point for Baits was when he picked up his first career NCAA save in Friday night's win. His low point came on Tuesday when the Bruins touched him up for a pair of earned runs in only 2/3 of an inning. The runs boosted his ERA to 7.36, although that figure can change quickly since he has only pitched 3 2/3 innings this year. The trend has been for the Gauchos to use Baits in key relief situations, so it will be interesting to see if his recent struggles will alter that approach.

The sign outside Caesar Uyesaka Stadium says it all 

Freshman Robby Nesovic also had his share of work this weekend, pitching in the first two games of his college career and also appearing as a pinch hitter on Saturday. The high point for Nesovic was his one inning of scoreless relief in Tuesday's loss to the Bruins. On the downside, he gave up three hits and a run in his 1 1/3 innings on Friday and he flied out to left field in his pinch-hit appearance. His ERA now stands at a very respectable 3.86.

With such a strong pitching staff, the UCSB coaches have been unable to give any innings to freshman pitchers Dillon Tate and Art Vidrio as yet. However, it's just a matter of time before these two young men get their chance. Their next opportunity will be this weekend when the Gauchos take on San Jose State in a three-game series and then on Monday afternoon when they take on the Saint Mary's College Gaels.

- Co-written by WC and Gus