Trying to avoid getting swept by their cross-town rivals and missing out on the CIF playoffs for the first time in 16 years, Santa Barbara High got a superb pitching performance from Alex Chicote as he blanked San Marcos, 4-0, on Thursday afternoon at Joe Mueller Field.
“Today was a must-win game and he stepped up big for us today,” Dons coach Donny Warrecker said. “He got stronger as the game went on and really shut them down.”
The junior left-hander threw his first complete game, striking out four, scattering six hits and walking three. He threw 112 pitches.
“For the majority of the game, I was really working on the outside fastball and my curveball was looking pretty good,” commented Chicote. “I’m just really glad that we were able to pull through today and that I was able to go all seven innings.”
(JC Corliss / Noozhawk photo)
The Dons got a notable contribution at the plate from Antonio Andrade, who went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBIs. Also making their presence felt were Joe Firestone and Caleb Norton, who combined for three hits and two runs batted in.
“Antonio came up with some really clutch hits today,” coach Warrecker added. “He has finally figured out his swing and figures to be a fantastic offensive player for us next year.”
San Marcos got another solid outing on the mound from Ian Churchill, who went 6 2/3 innings and allowed four earned runs. The junior righty struck out 10 batters while surrendering 8 hits.
“The biggest thing was his ability to deal with a little bit of adversity today,” San Marcos coach Jacob Pepper said. “I’m real proud of Ian and excited that we still got another full year with him.”
During the fourth inning, the Santa Barbara got a two-run double from Antonio Andrade that broke a scoreless game and ended a 17-inning scoreless streak against San Marcos.
The Dons loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh. Following a strikeout, Caleb Norton hit an RBI single and Firestone smacked a single to left field to bring home another run and give the Dons a 4-0 advantage.
“They had our number but before the game,” Andrade said. “I had a really good feeling that we weren’t going to get shut out again. From top to bottom, everyone contributed equally, which helped us score some runs.”
Santa Barbara ended San Marcos’ attempt to earn their first three-game regular season sweep over the Dons in 20 years.
“This is the first time that our team has won the season series against Santa Barbara in five or six years,” coach Pepper said. “Overall, it felt good and we took away a lot of positives from this year.”
The Dons (12-8 overall, 7-5 league) finish in sole possession of second place in the Channel League and ensured a CIF playoff berth for the 17th consecutive season.
San Marcos (13-12 overall, 5-7 league) finishes tied for third place in the Channel League with Buena. However, Buena holds the tie-breaker because of three regular season wins over the Royals.
The CIF-SS Division 2 baseball playoff bracket will be released Monday.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Blake DeVine can be reached at bdevine@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.