ISLA VISTA, Calif. (KEYT) An Earth Day celebration brought students and residents together in Isla Vista.

The free event included music in Anisq'Oyo Park.

UCSB's Associated Students' Environmental Affairs Board and the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District put it on together.

People had a chance to pot plants, swap clothing, tie-die T-shirts and dance.

They also competed in a watermelon eating contest.

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) - Jake Downing, Alejandro Garza and Nate Castellon all smashed home runs, Carson Turnquist earned his fourth victory and Nick Bonn notched his 10th save as Cal Poly clinched its Big West baseball series against CSUN with a 5-4 triumph Saturday afternoon.

Downing broke up a scoreless game at Baggett Stadium with a two-run homer to left-center field in the fourth inning, his first of the year and second of his Cal Poly career. One inning later, Castellon and Garza both belted solo home runs to left field for a 4-0 lead. Castellon hit his third of the season and sixth of his career while Garza now has 11 career homers after hitting his fifth of 2026.

Turnquist (4-2) pitched five scoreless frames before allowing three runs in the sixth and exiting the game. The junior right-hander scattered seven hits and, for the second straight weekend, struck out 11 opposing batters, his career high, while issuing three walks. He threw a season-high 105 pitches.

Bonn, who suffered losses and blown saves the last two weeks at Oregon State and UC San Diego, wriggled out of an eight-inning jam and struck out the Nos. 3-4-5 hitters in the Matador lineup in the ninth to earn his 10th save, best in the Big West and second in the nation.

An 8-5 winner in the series opener Friday night, Cal Poly clinched its sixth conference series in seven tries and improved to 23-18 for the season. The Mustangs remain tied with UC San Diego, which beat UC Irvine 9-4, for first place in the Big West. Both teams are 14-6. Fourth-place Cal State Fullerton (12-8) scored three times in the ninth inning to defeat UC Santa Barbara 9-7 as the Gauchos fell from first place to third at 13-7.

Mustang center fielder Casey Murray went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, giving him 12 multiple-hit games this season. Downing and right fielder Dylan Kordic each added a pair of hits for Cal Poly, continuing their recent success at the plate.

A .150 hitter in late March, Downing is 14-for-27 (.519) in his last six games to bump his average up 63 points to .279. Kordic is 13-for-28 (.464) with four home runs and 12 RBIs over his last eight games, and the .167 hitter in late March is now batting .291.

First baseman Gavin Spiridonoff had his six-game hitting streak snapped Saturday. The freshman was 12-for-20 (.600) during the streak, lifting his batting average 73 points, before going 0-for-4 Saturday. Spiridonoff still owns a .313 mark.

CSUN outhit the Mustangs 10-9, led by shortstop Trent Abel with two doubles and a single. Outfielder Matthew Thomas added two singles. The Matadors snapped Cal Poly's streak of eight consecutive games producing double-digit hits.

After the barrage of home runs by Cal Poly in the fourth and fifth innings, Kordic doubled in the fifth to drive home Murray from second base and give the Mustangs a 5-0 cushion.

The Matadors struck for three runs in the sixth to close the gap to 5-3. Kyle Panganiban tripled to right field to score two runs and Thomas singled to left for the third tally.

The Mustang lead was trimmed to one run in the seventh. Two singles preceded a run-scoring double to left by Trent Abel, but Mateo Rickman, representing the potential game-tying run, was caught in a rundown between third and home and

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (27-13, 13-7 Big West) experienced all the ups and downs of baseball on Saturday, twice coming back from two-run deficits to lead, only to ultimately fall, 9-7, to Cal State Fullerton (20-21, 12-8 Big West) on a grey, damp evening. Liam Barrett and Rowan Kelly each drove in a pair of runs, while Xavier Esquer went 3-for-5 at the plate in the losing effort.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos' rollercoaster ride started low, with an error and a pair of singles giving the visitors a 2-0 run lead in the first inning. The first climb started with starter Nate Aceves responding by setting the Titans down in order in the top of the second and continued with the Santa Barbara offense putting four runs on the board in their half of the inning. Corey Nunez was hit by a pitch, Cole Kosciusko singled and Mitch Namie's RBI groundout got the Gauchos on the board. Esquer's single tied the game, then a wild pitch and an error got him to third base. Another error allowed Nate Vargas to reach safely and Esquer to score. With the inning extended, Kelly's single up the middle extended Santa Barbara's lead to 4-2.

The next dip began in the third, when the Gauchos left the bases loaded without scoring. A walk and two singles got Fullerton a run back in the fourth, and a walk, hit batter and two singles helped the visitors level the score again in the fifth. An RBI fielder's choice put the Titans ahead 5-4 before that inning ended, and a sixth-inning home run put Fullerton ahead by two again.

Esquer led off the sixth with a single, then later scored on Kelly's RBI fielder's choice to start the Gauchos' next climb. In the seventh inning, William Vasseur got on board with a single, then got to third on Esquer's third hit of the game. Esquer showed off some great baserunning instincts on the play too, reaching second. That effort set up Barrett's two-RBI single through the right side, which gave Santa Barbara a 7-6 lead. The Gauchos set the Titans down in order in the top of the eighth, but their ride came screeching to a halt in the ninth, when a lead-off home run tied the game for Fullerton and a single, a double and another single brought home two more runs. Santa Barbara was able to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but there were no twists left on the rollercoaster's track.

The Gauchos are now one game back of in the Big West race trailing both Cal Poly and UC San Diego.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos and Titans will now play a rubber game on Sunday, with the winner taking the series, which would be the tiebreaking factor should the two teams end the regular season tied in The Big West standings. Santa Barbara will send one of their own, Kellan Montgomery and his six wins, to the mound. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. from Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, and tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) - Cal Poly football wide receiver Michael Briscoe is headed to the NFL. Briscoe was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks Saturday following the conclusion of the NFL Draft.

This past season, Briscoe was standout wideout for the Mustangs, leading Cal Poly in all receiving categories. His seven touchdowns ranked fourth in the Big Sky as did his 18.1 yards per reception. His 77.9 receiving yards per game ranked third in the Big Sky and his 779 yards on the season ranked seventh. He also threw for a touchdown and had a game in which he had four receiving touchdowns.

For his career, Briscoe totaled 1,566 receiving yards, 78 receptions, and 14 touchdowns. His 14 career receiving touchdowns ranks 10th in program history. He earned All-Big Sky Honorable Mention honors this past season.

This is the second consecutive year Cal Poly football has had a player sign with an NFL team following the draft. Last year, defensive end Elijah Ponder signed with the New England Patriots and went on to make strong contributions in his rookie campaign all the way to the Super Bowl.

Briscoe will now join a Seahawks team that is fresh off beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl to win the Lombardi trophy this season.

(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics)

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SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KEYT) - The No. 1-seeded UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis team delivered a dominant and decisive performance Saturday afternoon at the Barnes Tennis Center, sweeping UC Irvine 4-0 to claim the Big West Championship and avenge last season's title loss.

THE MATCH
Final: #36 UC Santa Barbara 4, #75 UC Irvine
Records: #36 UC Santa Barbara (18-7, 5-1 Big West), #75 UC Irvine (14-8, 5-1 Big West)

HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Santa Barbara came out locked in from the start, setting the tone with a commanding showing in doubles. Conrad Brown and Dominique Rolland struck first with a quick 6-1 victory on court two, putting the Gauchos in control early. Shortly after, the No. 1 duo and No. 65-ranked pair of Miguel Avendano and Lucca Liu followed with a strong 6-2 win to secure the doubles point and a 1-0 lead, while Lorenzo Brunkow and Diogo Morais held a 5-2 advantage on court three before play was halted.

The Gauchos carried that level into singles, where their depth proved overwhelming. Avendano extended the lead with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory on court four, playing aggressive and efficient tennis from the outset. Freshman Brunkow showed composure to follow with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6, putting UC Santa Barbara within one point of the title.

Morais sealed the championship in convincing fashion, as the senior earned a 6-3, 6-1 victory on court three to clinch the 4-0 sweep and ignite celebration for the Blue and Gold.

Several matches were left unfinished, including battles on the top courts from No. 110 Lucca Liu and No. 64 Dominique Rolland, as play was halted following the clinch. Charlie Underwood was also on the cusp of clinching on court five, holding a 6-3, 2-5 scoreline when the match was called.

RESULTS
Doubles

1. #65 Miguel Avendano/Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. Max Fardanesh/Rohan Sachdev (UCI) 6-2
2. Conrad Brown/Dominique Rolland (UCSB) def. Tal Goodman/Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) 6-1
3. Lorenzo Brunkow/Diogo Morais (UCSB) vs. Sohrob Amiryavari/Alex Guajardo (UCI) 5-2, unfinished

Order of finish: 2, 1

Singles

1. #110 Lucca Liu (UCSB) vs. Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) 6-7 (4-7), 1-0, unfinished
2. #64 Dominique Rolland (UCSB) vs. Max Fardanesh (UCI) 2-6, 3-3, unfinished
3. Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. Tal Goodman (UCI) 6-3, 6-1
4. Miguel Avendano (UCSB) def. Sohrob Amiryavari (UCI) 6-1, 6-2
5. Charlie Underwood (UCSB) vs. Ruining Huang (UCI) 6-3, 2-5, unfinished
6. Lorenzo Brunkow (UCSB) def. Greg Gamal (UCI) 6-3, 6-2

Order of finish: 4, 6, 3

UP NEXT
With the Big West Championship title secured, UC Santa Barbara earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship. The Gauchos will await their postseason placement, including opponent and site, during the NCAA Selection Show.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics)

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