UC Santa Barbara shuts out Shockers

Eighth-inning at-bats in blowout baseball games are usually irrelevant to the outcome but important to a larger picture.

Wichita State coach Todd Butler is looking for any evidence that the Shockers can become an effective hitting team – if that evidence happens late in a lopsided defeat, so be it.

Except that Butler rarely sees such evidence, and there was basically none Sunday as No. 21 UC Santa Barbara defeated WSU 8-0 at Eck Stadium. The Shockers scored six runs in the series and were a ninth-inning rally on Friday from being swept.

WSU (6-12) failed often during Sunday’s later innings to break through against UCSB. Those runs may not have made a difference against the Gauchos, but they would have given Butler some hope.

“We had situations to at least score a run today, but no timely hit at all,” Butler said. “Somebody has to hit the ball in the gap. Somebody has to do it eventually. I don’t think we can go 56 games with this – we’ve played quite a few games so far. We’re waiting for someone to get the hit.”

UCSB broke it open with a five-run seventh, during which the Shockers changed pitchers twice. Chase Williams allowed a three-run home run to No. 9 hitter Ryan Clark as WSU allowed five hits in the inning and walked three.

A WSU comeback at that point was unlikely, since the Shockers have topped eight runs three times in 18 games – once each against Texas State, Central Michigan and Arkansas-Little Rock.

There were still chances for WSU to make it interesting, however, but the Shockers wasted their most productive at-bats over the final four innings, missing opportunities to keep it close before UCSB pulled away.

In the sixth, WSU started with consecutive singles, including a leadoff hit by Tanner Kirk to conclude a seven-pitch at-bat. After Daniel Kihle grounded into a double play with outs made at third base and second, Ryan Tinkham walked before Chase Rader struck out on four pitches.

“If you’re still tight after this many games, that’s not a good sign,” Butler said. “It’s basically, can you get the job done, and right now we don’t have really any hitters getting the job done.

“You’re looking for a guy maybe to have a weekend to go like 5 for 10 or maybe 8 for 12 for a weekend and I don’t know that we’ve had that all year. Somebody has to step up.… There’s no excuses.”

In the eighth inning, WSU loaded the bases with no outs. Pinch-hitter Tanner Dearman fouled off three two-strike pitches and walked on nine pitches to load the bases with the Shockers’ Nos. 3-5 hitters coming up.

The trip through the middle of the order proved fruitless as Kihle struck out, Tinkham flied to right on the first pitch and Rader was called out for his fourth strikeout of the afternoon.

“We’re just not doing our jobs,” Tinkham said. “I can only speak for myself, I didn’t do my job today. I left a lot of people on base and I put a lot of (blame) on myself for not getting it done.

“I want to be the guy in that position, I just didn’t come through today.”

UCSB starter Justin Jacome pitched six shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out eight. WSU starter Sam Hilliard got through three innings without allowing a run but walked the first two batters of the fourth and was removed after Clark’s RBI double.

WSU pitchers issued eight walks and hit two batters. The Shockers’ two midweek starters last week, freshmen Tyler Jones and Jeb Bargfeldt, each pitched Sunday in relief.

This story was originally published March 15, 2015 at 5:58 PM with the headline "UC Santa Barbara shuts out Shockers."