With its freshman lefty pitching lights out and the offense providing early run support, UCSB was going to be tough to beat on a day it needed a win to claim its first Big West baseball championship in 33 years.
Rodney Boone was something special on the mound as he struck out 12 and allowed five hits in 8.1 innings, and the Gauchos blanked Cal Poly, 7-0, before an overflow crowd at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, giving them the conference title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
UCSB (45-9, 19-5) will learn Monday morning if it will be one of the 16 hosts for the regionals. If it is selected, the regional would be played at the new Las Vegas Ballpark, the home of the Las Vegas Aviators minor league team.
“We have a legitimate chance with our winning percentage,” said UCSB coach Andrew Checketts. ‘We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope.”
The Gauchos were flying high behind the pitching of Boone, who improved to 8-0 in his first college season.
“Our guys played well and Rodney was outstanding,” Checketts said. “It was just what we needed. He didn’t give them a chance. He didn’t give them anything and he was dominant. Offensively, we did a good job. We were able to put some pressure on them. And, to get a couple of runs early, I think that really gave us a spark to get that lead and allowed Rodney settle in and get after it.”
After being stymied by Cal Poly pitchers in the first two games of the series, the Gauchos jumped on Saturday starter Chase Watkins right from the start. McClain O’Connor opened the first inning with a single and Andrew Martinez followed with a single to center. Cal Poly center field Bradlee Beasley overran Martinez’s hit and that allowed O’Connor to race around third and score and put Martinez at second.
No. 3 hitter Eric Yang moved Martinez to third on a single to right but was then thrown out trying to take second base. Armani Smith followed with a grounder to second to score Martinez for a 2-0 lead.
The Gauchos capitalized on another Beasley error in the third inning to score two more runs against reliever Michael Clark, who entered the game in the second inning. The error on Smith’s single allowed Martinez to score the third run and a single by Tommy Jew scored Smith for a 4-0 lead.
Boone said he appreciated the early run support before admitting he was so focused that he didn’t even know the score until the end of the game.
“It’s great, it’s a little more wiggle room, but you got to stay locked it,” he said of the early lead. “I honestly didn’t know how many runs we had until the end of the game when I looked at the board. It was just phenomenal.”
Said Checketts: “Rodney had it all going. It’s a big moment for him. For a freshman to come in and do that in the biggest game of the year, that says a lot about his maturity and poise.”
Boone’s change-up was his killer pitch.
“Coach said throw it to look like a fastball,” Boone explained. “The arm speed was a lot better, so it helped with the deception.”
Boone allowed five hits and walked three in his longest outing of the season.
Checketts allowed the big crowd to give Boone a standing ovation after he got the first out of the ninth inning.
“I thought Rodney deserved the standing ovation based on how he performed. That was the plan,” said Checketts.
Chris Lincoln came in and retired the last two batters, and the celebration was on.
UCSB celebrates winning the Big West baseball title after beating Cal Poly 7-0. It’s the Gauchos’ first title since 1986. pic.twitter.com/OvgMevOI1T
— NoozhawkSports (@NoozhawkSports) May 25, 2019
The Gauchos mobbed each other in the infield as the crowd roared its approval.
“Talk about a story,” said Checketts of winning the title on the last game of the regular season. “You couldn’t ask for any more drama than to do it on the last day after losing the first two days. There was a lot of emotions going on as you would expect from a rivalry game.”
It was an especially emotional moment for senior Tevin Mitchell, who hit a solo homer in the sixth.
“For this to be the last game of the season and for us to do this at home, to win Big west championship, it’s special,” he said. “This is for a lot of guys that came before us and set the ground work and turned this program to be where we are today.”
Of the home run, Mitchell said assistant coach Donegal Fergus told him to sit for a change-up from Clark.
“I got a change up in and I put my best swing on it and I knew (it was gone) as soon as it left my bat,” he said.
The enormity of winning the conference hit Mitchell during his run around the bases.
“I was surprisingly calm but when I hit second (base) and looked at the guys in the dugout, that’s when the emotion hit me,” he said. “We’ve worked hard for this. We’ve talking about Big West as the No. 1 box to check. We did it today.”
Said Checketts of winning the title: “For our guys, it does mean a lot. We’ve chased it. It’s been elusive. We’ve had some big moments: We made the first regional in 12 years (in 2001), hosted regionals in 2015, gone to the College World Series in 2016. But we weren’t able to get that Big West championship. So, it does mean a lot, a lot to our kids and a lot to me.”
UCSB’s victory also snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Mustangs (28-28, 17-7), who finished in second place in the Big West for the third straight year.
