Tuesday's NCAA baseball game between the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the visiting Loyola Marymount Lions was interrupted by a pelican on the field.
It happened in the top of the fourth inning with two outs and nobody on with the game tied at 1-1. The pelican initially got its beak stuck in the netting on the third base side behind home plate. A fan helped the pelican get untangled with the netting, but then the giant bird made itself comfortable behind home plate. LMU head coach Donegal Fergus tried to encourage the pelican to fly away, but it refused to leave. The players in the dugout got a big laugh out of it.
Pelican on the field delay feels very on brand for Santa Barbara pic.twitter.com/qf1ZkI84YH
— Stephen Schoch (@bigdonkey47) March 4, 2026
We have seen plenty of animals on the field over the years causing chaos as they cause delays in sporting events. In this case, UCSB's Caesar Uyesaka Stadium is located less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean, so it is not that surprising to see a pelican in the vicinity. Although this one seemed very relaxed despite all the people around, UCSB reported that the pelican eventually flew away safely.
As far as the game, although we don't have full details with the game still in progress, UCSB has a commanding 6-1 lead in the top of the eighth, so it looks like UCSB may be calling this a "rally pelican".
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
