Gauchos take down #1 UCLA!

Logo courtesy of UC Santa Barbara athletics department.

I have to be honest, this is not an article I thought I would be publishing when I woke up this morning. This was the UC Santa Barbara’s first win over a ranked opponent in over six years; coincidentally their last ranked win was also over a #1 ranked team, and that #1 ranked team was UCLA. Just seven days before COVID-19 stole a season, the Gauchos stole a win against the Bruins 8-5. Now just over six years later, the Gauchos do it again 4-0. Deja vu, and absolute cinema.

UCLA entered tonight on a 27 game winning streak, having not lost since late February against San Diego State. This did not matter for the Gauchos’ pitching staff, as Calvin Proskey, AJ Krodel, and Cole Tryba showed they had ice in their veins all game long holding the #1 team in the country scoreless. This truly speaks volumes of the Gauchos’ arms, as they were able to execute this lockdown performance on the road against a top team without their ace Jackson Flora even taking the mound.

I want to give a special shoutout to UCSB’s starter tonight, Calvin Proskey. This was only Proskey’s second appearance all season as he is coming back from injury, so to pitch as well as he did against a top team such as UCLA with only 1 inning of in-game ramp-up is truly remarkable. Proskey finished his start with three innings scoreless and only one hit allowed; look for the 6’3 right hander to keep this momentum going and be an important piece in the Gauchos’ rotation going forward.

Star UCLA SS and top MLB Draft prospect Roch Cholowsky finished the game 0-2 with 2 strikeouts, but did reach base after soaking pitches in both the first and third innings. The Bruins offense in total had a very quiet night, only notching five hits and having every chance at a run quelled by the Gauchos’ trio of pitchers. UCLA will stay at Jackie Robinson Stadium and look to regain their form this weekend against Minnesota, and UC Santa Barbara will seek to extend their 3 game winning streak into a road series against UC Irvine. What a game, and have yourselves a night Gauchos!

Final Score: #1 UCLA 0, UC Santa Barbara 4

WP: AJ Krodel (3-2)

LP: Angel Cervantes (2-1)

SV: Cole Tryba (2)

TheRundownPod Player of the Game: UC Santa Barbara P Cole Tryba (2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 SV)