NORTHRIDGE – Making a spot start for Jesse Meaux, UC Santa Barbara junior right-hander Matthew Vedo pitched a complete game on Sunday, carrying the Gauchos past Cal State Northridge, 5-1, to win the final game of the three-game series.
Meaux, normally the Gauchos’ Friday starter, was scratched from the weekend rotation due to shoulder pain, and in stepped Vedo, who was initially part of UCSB’s weekend rotation at the season’s outset.
However with the way Nick Capito had been pitching and Vedo’s struggles, the transfer from Colusa, Calif. found himself as the odd man out. That is, until Sunday.
He tossed his second complete game of the season, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out a career-high nine Matador hitters.
UCSB’s offense supported Vedo by scoring three times in the first two innings. Trevor Whyte had a bases loaded single in the first inning and Lance Roenicke was later hit by a pitch with the bases jammed to allow UCSB to take a 2-0 lead.
In the second inning Sean Williams’ double brought home Steven Moon to give Vedo and the Gauchos a 3-0 advantage. Williams and Moon each had two hits, part of UCSB’s 12-hit attack.
Mark Haddow, Ryan Palermo and Whyte each had a pair of hits. Brandon Trinkwon, playing in his first game since fouling a ball off his face on Friday, April 22, singled in his only plate appearance, as a pinch-hitter in the seventh.
Vedo, meanwhile, cruised through Northridge’s order. After Drew Muren’s two-out single in the first, Vedo retired 11 in a row. CSUN finally broke through in the sixth with a bases loaded sacrifice fly, but that was it.
UCSB tacked on a pair of runs in the seventh when Whyte scored on Bryce Tafelski’s double play groundout and Moon’s single plated Palermo.
Vedo sent down nine of the final 11 Matadors he faced in throwing his first complete game since a March 19 one-hitter vs. Nevada. Vedo threw 123 pitches for the Gauchos on Sunday to help them salvage the series after losing the first two games to CSUN.
UCSB improves to 20-21 overall and 6-9 in the Big West while CSUN falls to 20-26, 3-12.
The Gauchos play at No. 13 UCLA on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast live on AM 1290 and online through UCSBgauchos.com.
UCSB does not return home until May 13 vs. UC Irvine. Tickets are available by calling (805) 893-UCSB or online at UCSBgauchos.com
