Kevin Gowdy was brilliant on the mound for the Santa Barbara High baseball team on Tuesday against Buena.
The 6-4 UCLA-bound right-hander struck out 14 and in seven no-hit innings before being replaced by Bijan Palme in the eighth.
Palme got the win as the Dons broke a scoreless game in the bottom of the eighth when Antonio Andrade doubled home John Jensen for a 1-0 walk-off victory at Eddie Mathews Field.
The victory gives Santa Barbara a 2-1 record in Channel League and 6-4 overall. Buena is 2-2 and 8-8.
Gowdy was at the top of his game against the Bulldogs, striking two in every inning.
“We coaches can’t remember the last time a high school pitcher struck out two hitters in every inning” said Dons head coach Donny Warrecker. “Kevin was as overpowering today as we’ve seen him in three years here.”
Zane Chittenden threw six shutout innings for Buena, allowing five singles and stranding seven Santa Barbara runners.
“We were getting on but couldn’t come up with the key hit” said Warrecker. “Thankfully, Kevin and Bijan kept them quiet until we scored the only run we needed.”
Palme shut out the Buena in the botton of the eight and added two more strikeouts.
Buena…000 000 00 — 0 0 0
Santa Barbara…000 000 01 — 1 6 0
Chittenden, Marron (7) and Steinberger;
Gowdy, Palme (8) and Keithley.
WP: Palme (2-0); LP: Marron (5-2)
2B—SB: Andrade
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.