Gabe Grandcolas pitched a complete-game three-hitter, and Santa Barbara beat Buena ace Charlie Brooks, 3-1, for the Dons’ first Channel League baseball win on Friday at Buena.
The Dons (6-2, 1-1) jumped on Brooks for all their runs in the first inning, and Grandcolas made them stand up with a solid performance. He struck out six, walked two and allowed the one run in the third inning.
Santa Barbara combined three hits, a hit batter, a sacrifice fly and a double steal to score its three runs in the first. Connor McManigal and Toby Minehan hit back-to-back singles and John Brontsema followed with a sacrifice fly to deep right field to score McManigal. Jeff Paschke was hit by a pitch and Tyler Newman ripped a two-out single down the right-field line to bring home Minehan for the second run. The Dons then executed a delayed steal and Paschke scored the third run off Brooks.
“We kind of stunned him,” Dons assistant Mike Cooney said of Brooks. “That steal of home was a bonus.”
Buena (7-4, 1-2) capitalized on two Santa Barbara errors to score its run. But the Bulldogs couldn’t get anything else against the left-handed Grandcolas.
“He stayed ahead of the hitters with his breaking ball,” said Cooney.
The Dons will now travel to Phoenix, Ariz., and play in the Coach Bob National Tournament.
