USC falls to UCSB in fourth straight loss

USC infielders in the huddle during an NCAA baseball against UCLA on April 4th, 2026 at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles, CA.

(Justin Mendez-The Sporting Tribune)

The No. 14 USC Trojans' offense was unable to keep up with the pitching powerhouse that is the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the 5-1 upset loss Tuesday afternoon.

The second matchup of the season for the two held a much different plot compared to last Tuesday's game between the Trojans and the Gauchos. UC Santa Barbara picked up the first run of the game from a leadoff home run by catcher Nate Vargas in the third inning, followed by a sacrifice groundout by Nick Husovsky that scored Ryan Severns to put them up 2-0. USC responded the next inning with their lone run of the game coming from a sacrifice fly ball from Kevin Takeuchi to score Adrian Lopez.

The Gauchos continued to tack on runs, with a 369-foot homer from Corey Nunez in the fourth and additional insurance runs in the sixth and eighth. The Trojans offense remained stale throughout the game, loading five hits and leaving seven runners on base.

Left-hander Van Froling carried the largest load for UC Santa Barbara, pitching three scoreless innings and totaling three strikeouts. Solid bullpen performances from Calvin Prosy and Cole Tryba kept USC baserunners at bay. Meanwhile, USC sophomore Chase Herrell lacked comfortability on the mound, having given up three runs in three innings pitched.

UC Santa Barbara's dominant pitching performance is one of many on the season for the staff. They currently sit first in the NCAA in ERA with 2.89 and fourth in WHIP with 1.17. USC's 3.43 ERA places them at 11th and their 1.20 WHIP puts them at ninth.

The UC Santa Barbara victory is the team's biggest upset since overcoming #1 UCLA in the 2020 season. This also makes it UC Santa Barbara's third ranked win on the season, having previously defeated No. 20 Southern Miss and No. 20 Oregon.

This USC loss comes after being swept by No. 1 UCLA over the weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Trojans were ranked No. 12 prior to their three straight losses, bringing them down to No. 14. USC's record falls to 27-7 overall and 8-6 on the road. UC Santa Barbara improved to 20-10 on the season.

The USC Trojans will look to end their losing streak this weekend as they host the 18-12 Iowa Hawkeyes April 10-12. Meanwhile, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos will face the 14-14 UC San Diego Tritons at home.