Freshman left hander Rodney Boone surrendered just one hit
in 7 1/3 innings on the mound and the UCSB baseball team completed a three-game
sweep of Stephen F. Austin with a 7-0 victory on Sunday afternoon.
The matchup with Stephen F. Austin was the final non-conference
weekend series of the season for the Gauchos and after two hard fought
victories to open the series No. 19 ranked UCSB imposed its will in Sunday’s
finale.
“We didn’t score a little bit early and (Boone) continued to
get zeroes and I think it took some pressure off the offense so they didn’t
feel like they had to score ten (runs) today,” said UCSB head coach Andrew
Checketts.
Boone not only kept runs off the scoreboard, he also carried
a no-hitter into the top of the eighth inning. His teammates and the crowd were
well aware that they were witnessing a potentially historic performance, but
Stephen F. Austin catcher Skylar Black spoiled the no-hitter with a softly hit
jam shot into right field.
“I missed my spot there so (Eric Yang) was disappointed that
I missed my spot, but we’ll get it next time,” said Boone of his catcher’s
reaction to the Lumberjack’s first hit of the game.
It was the seventh start of the season and third victory
without a loss for Boone, who has integrated seamlessly into the UCSB rotation
in his first year on campus. Boone’s veteran teammates have contributed to his
success.
“I talked to Ben (Brecht) and Jack (Dashwood) about where
they were hitting the ball and they told me to command inside and out the
fastball and that was my goal today,” said Boone of the advice he received from
the UCSB starting pitchers earlier in the series.
As for the UCSB offense, a slow start was mitigated by
Boone’s brilliance. Thomas Rowan opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth
inning with a solo homerun over the netting in left field.
Later in the inning, a one out double by Andrew Martinez was
followed by a single through to left field Jason Willow that brought home
Martinez and increased the UCSB lead to 2-0.
Rowan and Martinez drove in runs in the bottom of the fifth
inning on a sac fly and single to left field respectively, increasing the lead
to 4-0.
The Gauchos tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the
eighth inning as the Lumberjack relief pitchers struggled with control.
UCSB (23-5 overall, 2-1 Big West) will travel to Pepperdine
for a non-conference game on Tuesday before opening a crucial three-game series
at home against UC Irvine on Friday.