The Santa Barbara baseball team put together seven innings of quality pitching and defense on Tuesday and reaped the rewards, gaining a 5-1 Channel League victory over visiting Buena at Eddie Mathews Field.
Sophomore starting pitcher Danny Zandona threw a stellar game, recording a complete game while striking out seven without any walks or hit batsmen. The Bulldogs prevented the shutout by stringing together three singles in the top of the fourth to manufacture a run.
At the plate and in the field, Joey Gonzales was the star Tuesday. The shortstop went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in the third inning that put the Dons up 3-0 and had an RBI single in the fourth. Gonzales had a hand in two double plays and threw out six Buena baserunners.
Pepe Gil also had two hits for Santa Barbara and Alex Spatz put down an RBI single as the Dons beat Buena’s No. 1 Drew Jacob, now 5-2.
Zandona improves to 6-1 and limited the Bulldogs to the one run after they put up 11 on the Dons in their previous meeting. The two teams play their final contest on Friday in Ventura.
“We have pretty much have a no-lose attitude from here on out,” said Dons assistant coach Mike Cooney.
Santa Barbara is now 3-4 in league and Buena is 4-5. First, before Friday’s game, the Bulldogs face league-leading Dos Pueblos on Thursday.
SANTA BARBARA 5, BUENA 1
Buena 000 100 0 – 1 6 2
Santa Barbara 012 200 X – 5 7 0
B – Jacobs, Fryer (5), and Boys. SB – Zandona, and Fraker. WP – Zandona 6-1. LP – Jacobs 5-2.
2B – SB Gil. HR – SB Joey Gonzales (3rd inning, 1 on). Records – 9-10, 3-4. Buena 10-11, 4-5.
