SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Interstat) — Xavier Esquer hit two home runs and drove in seven runs to power UC Santa Barbara to a 15-5 victory over UC Riverside on Friday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. The Gauchos improved to 36-16 overall and 15-5 in the Big West, while the Highlanders fell to 15-33 and 5-15.

Esquer’s first homer, a grand slam in the bottom of the first, tied the game at 5-5 after Liam Barrett had opened the scoring with a solo shot. He added a three-run homer in the fifth to make it 10-5. Nick Husovsky went 3 for 3 with four RBIs, and William Vasseur had four hits. Calvin Proskey earned the win with 4 2/3 innings of two-hit ball, striking out six. Esteban Sepulveda homered for UC Riverside, which had six hits.

UC Santa Barbara totaled 12 hits and scored in five different innings. The Gauchos broke the game open with five runs in the sixth and added two in the eighth. UC Riverside’s Halen Jaden Guerrero pitched three scoreless innings in relief.