SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Interstat) — Xavier Esquer homered twice and drove in seven runs as UC Santa Barbara routed UC Riverside 15-5 on Friday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.

Esquer’s first blast was a grand slam in the bottom of the first inning that erased UC Riverside’s early five-run lead. His second homer, a three-run shot in the fifth, broke open a tight game and propelled the Gauchos to their ninth win in 10 games. UC Santa Barbara improved to 36-16 overall and remained atop the Big West standings, while the Highlanders dropped to 15-33.

UC Riverside had jumped out to a 5-0 advantage in the top of the first, capitalizing on a two-run home run from catcher Esteban Sepulveda and key hits before the first out was recorded. The Highlanders’ early burst came against Gauchos starter Calvin Proskey, who settled in after the rocky opening.

UC Santa Barbara answered immediately in the bottom half. Liam Barrett led off with a solo home run to right field to cut the deficit to 5-1. After a walk to Corey Nunez and outs from Nate Vargas and Liam Vasseur, Rowan Kelly walked and Nick Husovsky walked to load the bases. Esquer then launched a 1-0 pitch over the left-field wall for a grand slam, tying the game at 5.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the third, when UC Santa Barbara took the lead for good. Vasseur singled and advanced to second on a throwing error by the third baseman. After a lineout, Nick Husovsky singled up the middle to drive in Vasseur, making it 6-5.

UC Riverside tied the game in the top of the fifth. Jaxon Byrd was hit by a pitch, stole second and advanced to third on a single by Robert Pitts. Andrew Rivas flied out, but Byrd scored on Sepulveda’s single through the left side. The Gauchos quickly regained control in the bottom half. Nate Vargas led off with a solo home run to right-center field, his first of the game. Vasseur singled, Kelly was hit by a pitch, and after a sacrifice bunt, Esquer crushed his second homer of the day, a three-run shot to left field that gave UC Santa Barbara a 10-5 lead.

The Gauchos added three more runs in the sixth. Barrett walked, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on another wild pitch. Vasseur then singled home Vargas, and Husovsky singled home Vasseur to push the lead to 13-5.

UC Riverside scratched across three runs in the seventh on a two-run double by Lucas Bonham and a run-scoring single from Miles Scott, but the Gauchos responded in the eighth. Vargas singled, Vasseur doubled, and Husovsky singled up the middle to drive in two runs, making it 15-5.

Sepulveda homered for the Highlanders in the ninth, his second hit of the day, but UC Riverside could not overcome the deficit.

Proskey earned the win after allowing one earned run on two hits over 4⅔ innings, striking out six. Cole Tryba, AJ Krodel and Raymond Olivas combined for 4⅓ innings of relief, with Tryba and Krodel each tossing scoreless frames. Halen Jaden Guerrero pitched three shutout innings for UC Riverside, striking out two and allowing no hits.

Husovsky finished 3 for 3 with four RBIs for the Gauchos. William Vasseur went 4 for 5 with an RBI and three runs scored. Sepulveda had two hits, including his home run, and drove in two for the Highlanders.

The game marked the second straight victory for UC Santa Barbara over UC Riverside, following a 1-0 win on Thursday. The teams will meet again Saturday in the series finale.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of UC Santa Barbara 6, UC Riverside 4, and the Gauchos’ ELO system gave them a 91.50 percent probability to win.