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A party host’s eye-rolling peeve is the spotlight-seizing guest.
For tonight’s opener of a three-game series at Les Murakami Stadium, that attention grabber could be the UC Santa Barbara baseball team.
This is the Rainbow Warriors’ final homestand of the regular season, a three-day event that culminates with Sunday’s celebration of seniors Ethan Lopez, Maaki Yamazaki, Dominic DeMiero, Kash Koltermann and Colin Ashworth. But the focus could shift to the sixth-ranked Gauchos, who are 41-7 overall and atop the Big West at 15-3.
The Gauchos have a no-puka starting lineup with a collective .318 batting average. Their starting rotation has a 3.09 ERA and averages 9.52 strikeouts per nine innings.
“It’s been fun,” UCSB coach Andrew Checketts said. “There’s been a lot of winning. We’ve played well. We’ve done a lot of different things. We’ve been able to score runs (7.4 per game). Our lineup’s really deep. You don’t get a lot of breathing room at the bottom end of the lineup. Down there, it can do some damage and put some pressure on pitchers. It’s hard to get through the lineup a couple of times. We’ve played solid defense for the year and pitched well. It makes a good recipe for winning some games.”
It was success that was envisioned after the Gauchos advanced to the College World Series in 2016, and with Checketts, considered a top recruiter, at the helm. But with a combination of under performances and ailments, the Gauchos had losing records in 2017 and 2018.
Last summer, Checketts hired Donegal Fergus as associate head coach and Matt Fonteno as an assistant coach to implement a pro-style offense. Fergus, who came over from Washington, and Fonteno, who was at Saint Mary’s, handle the hitting. Checketts remains in charge of the pitching.
Checketts said the Gauchos employ a hitting approach that “is a little bit more of a pro-style offense compared to the college West Coast-styled offense that we’ve run in the past. It’s more for balls in the air, hitting for power more.”
The Gauchos have clobbered 67 homers, or 1.4 per game, while drawing 4.1 walks per game and averaging a strikeout every 4.8 at-bats. Catcher Eric Yang and designated hitter Thomas Rowan are each batting .403 in Big West games. Overall, Rowan has 12 home runs, and outfielders Armani Smith and Tommy Jew each have 11. The Gauchos have 14 sacrifices in 48 games, including four in 18 Big West contests.
“We still have the ability for the short game, (but) that’s not as big a priority for us,” Checketts said. “We still have the ability to run, and we have a few guys who can do that. We do run. There’s pressure offense there. In terms of giving up outs, there’s a lot less of that, a lot less use of it. It’s really an approach to go for it, put the ball in the air, and follow the pro style that’s become more and more popular over the last few years.”
Checketts believed there was talent but not enough on-field experience on the roster exiting fall training. The concerns were heightened after a 2-2 start. But then the Gauchos won 12 in a row, with a rainout as the only setback. It was an early March series against Tulane when the doubts were vaporized.
“I think at that point, we felt we’ve got something here,” Checketts said. “We continued to progress and get better and play well.”
With last year’s closer, Shea Barry, struggling early after undergoing offseason surgery, Chris Lincoln and Michael McGreevy lead a thin bullpen. Lincoln has 13 saves and McGreevy has six. What’s more, Barry is back in the groove.
“He’s been able to add depth to that bullpen so McGreevy and Lincoln haven’t had to do all the work,” Checketts said of Barry.
BIG WEST BASEBALL
>> Who: No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (41-7, 15-3 BWC) at Hawaii (20-24, 8-10 BWC)
>> When: 6:35 p.m. today and Saturday; 1:05 p.m. Sunday
>> Where: Les Murakami Stadium
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: KKEA 1420 AM today and Saturday; KHKA 1500-AM Sunday.
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