Nick Capito had his best start in a UCSB uniform and it allowed his head coach to tie the school’s all-time wins record. Capito, a left-hander who transferred to UCSB from Santa Ana CC, pitched a complete game as the Gauchos defeated the University of San Francisco, 3-2 on Saturday at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
The victory gave UCSB head coach Bob Brontsema his 445th career win, tying him for the most all-time in UCSB school history.
However, his young southpaw stole the show for the Gauchos (10-8).
Capito faced just five batters over the minimum in his first career complete game, allowing just seven hits and two earned runs while throwing under 100 pitches. He struck out three and didn’t walk a batter as Capito is now 3-2 on the season with a 3.63 ERA.
The Artesia, Calif. native had six 1-2-3 innings and two other innings where he faced just four batters.
UCSB gave Capito just enough offense for the victory, the biggest hit coming on Ryan Tregoning’s RBI double in the sixth inning.
With one out, Matt Valaika struck out, but reached first base on a wild pitch and then moved up to second on another wild pitch. After a groundout, Tregoning hit a two-strike pitch over right fielder Connor Bernatz’s head in right for the game-winning hit.
UCSB scored in the first inning without recording a hit. Gunnar Terhune opened with a walk then moved to second base on his third steal of the season. Mark Haddow sent a routine grounder to third, but USF third baseman Jason Mahood’s throw bounced and skipped away from Matt Chavez at first. The ball got away just long enough for Terhune to score from second.
After USF tied the game with a run in the second, the Gauchos took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Tregoning laced a bases-loaded single to left. However, the inning ended without further damage, but it was fine since Capito was on the mound.
UCSB and USF will conclude their series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
Sunday’s game will be broadcast live on AM 1490 and streaming live online at UCSBgauchos.com Click here for more information and a season long schedule.
