SANTA BARBARA – Behind dominant performances at the plate and in the circle, Shelby Wisdom led UC Santa Barbara to an 8-0 shutout over Utah State in the Gaucho Classic II opener.
UCSB improves its record to 16-4 and is now on a five-game winning streak, while Utah State falls to 5-12. Overall, it was the team’s sixth shutout victory and its first win by mercy rule this season.
Seven of the nine Gaucho starters collected a hit, as Wisdom and MeShalon Moore led the way.
Wisdom picked up her sixth win of the season (6-4) after tossing four strikeouts and limiting the Aggies to a lone single. This was her third complete game shutout of the year.
At the plate, the junior went a team-best 3-of-4 with two RBI and a pair of runs. Her first scoring play of the day came while the game was still scoreless at the bottom of the third.
Kristen Clark hit an infield single to third in leading off the inning and went on to steal second during the following at bat. It would be the first of three swipes for the Gauchos who are currently second in the Big West with 27 stolen bases.
With a runner in scoring position and one out, Wisdom doubled off the centerfield wall to bring Clark home. Moore followed her pitcher and roped a triple to right center and gave UCSB a 2-0 lead.
After another out was recorded, Emily Brucelas approached the batter’s box with runners on second and third and delivered the Gauchos’ third extra base hit of the inning with a deep shot to centerfield for a two-RBI double.
Heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, UCSB was comfortably ahead at 4-0, and added another run when Wisdom sent Pilpil home off a single to right field.
After a quiet fifth inning, the Gauchos continued with the momentum on offense with help from an Aggie fielding error. With the bases loaded, Wisdom grounded to Victoria Saucedo at shortstop who couldn’t cleanly field the ball. This left the opportunity for Stacy Cavazos and Jessica Tetzlaff to score.
Jenessa Jeppesen finished the game with a walk off single to right field that sent Wisdom home for UCSB’s eighth and final run.
Santa Barbara will continue tournament play tomorrow morning when they take on Monmouth at Campus Diamond starting at 9 a.m.
