A spectacular pitching effort from senior Michael Martin helped UCSB shut down and shut out No. 11 Pepperdine on Tuesday at Caesar Uyesaka Field. Martin (3-0) allowed only three hits in seven innings of scoreless baseball, striking out three and walking one, while the Gauchos offense exploded for 14 runs on 18 hits.
UCSB (19-7 overall, 3-0 in Big West Conference play) added to its conference-leading home run total with three long balls. The Gauchos’ 18-hit effort marked the 15th time in 26 games that they have recorded at least 10 hits.
After shortstop Shane Carlson doubled in the second at-bat of the second inning, senior Patrick Rose doubled him home with a laser down the left field line, giving UCSB a 1-0 lead. Freshman Mark Haddow made the most of his fourth start of the year, belting a home run deep over the center field wall to give the Gauchos a 3-0 advantage.
Eric Oliver’s RBI single in the third scored Brian Gump to extend the lead to 4-0.
The Gauchos broke the game wide open in the fourth, scoring eight runs on eight hits. UCSB would bat around in the inning, as Chris McMurray led off with a home run that barely sneaked inside the left field foul pole. His solo shot ran Waves starter Robert Dickmann (3-3) from the game.
Rose and Haddow followed with singles to put runners on the corners with no outs. Chris Fox followed with a single down the left field line, scoring both Rose and Haddow for a 7-0 cushion. Oliver shot a single through the left side in the ensuing at-bat to drive in Gump. Mike Zuanich joined the hit parade, with an RBI single of his own, driving in Fox from third to give the Gauchos a 9-0 lead. With two on and two out, McMurray stepped to the plate for his second at-bat of the inning. He unloaded on a Doug Konoske offering, belting a ball high over the left field scoreboard for a three-run home run, his second of the inning. McMurray’s fourth homer of the year gave UCSB a 12-0 lead after four innings of play.
UCSB added a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on two hits. Haddow added to his already impressive day, by singling down the right field line to plate Zuanich and McMurray. His two-RBI single gave him four RBIs on the day.
After some first-inning trouble, Martin settled down nicely. In his seven innings of work, he allowed only three hits, while striking out three. In the process, he lowered his ERA to 3.09 in 32 innings of work.
Jason Roenicke and Patrick McIntyre combined to pitch two scoreless innings of relief to close things out for UCSB.
The victory pushed the Gauchos’ wining streak to seven in a row. UCSB’s pitching staff held the Waves to three hits, the second lowest total they’ve allowed this year.
McMurray was 2-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs. Haddow was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs as well. Fox added a pair of hits in three at-bats, with one run scored and two RBIs. Zuanich was 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
Click here for Tuesday’s official box score and play-by-play.
UCSB and Pepperdine (17-9) will play again at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Malibu.