In all his years in baseball, Westmont coach Robert Ruiz said he’d never seen a no-hitter until Friday when his pitcher Daniel Butler threw one in a 6-0 victory over visiting Arizona Christian.
“It was the first no-hitter I’ve ever been at a field for, either against us or us against someone else, or even as a spectator,” he said at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Café. “I had never seen one. It was pretty awesome.”
While he’d never witnessed one in person, Ruiz knew to remain calm as Butler kept retiring batters.
“I didn’t start to get nervous until about the 8th inning,” he said. “I noticed it in the fourth, but none of us talked about it. I thought our dugout did a really good job of pretending like they didn’t know what was going on.”
The final out was a gut-wrenching experience for Ruiz and the Warriors.
“The last out of the game was a fly ball to center field that honestly felt like it hung in the air for a good six minutes. Everyone wanted to celebrate but we had to make sure (the outfielder) was going to catch it.”
And once the out was made, “It was pretty sweet,” he said.
Ruiz credited catcher Jarrett Costa, the defense behind Butler and pitching coach Peter Cougoule for helping Butler accomplish the feat.
Westmont is 23-4 and ranked sixth in the NAIA, its highest national ranking in program history. The GSAC-leading Warriors play a three-game series at second-place Vanguard on Wednesday on and Thursday.
SBCC: Coach Jeff Walker’s team had a good week, taking two games from Ventura and one from Hancock.
Walker then talked about a fourth win for his club: “On Saturday, we had 15-20 of our players help out with the Challengers Little League at Girsh Park. We consider that a win as well,” he said.
The Vaqueros are tied for first place at the halfway point in the Western State Conference.
UCSB: Assistant coach Casey Harms said the Gauchos head to Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday before playing a three-game series with USC starting Wednesday. Thursday and Friday games will be at home and Saturday’s finale at USC.
Big West play starts next weekend against Long Beach.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS ATHLETE OF MONTH
Abraham Moreno was on a Santa Barbara basketball team that went 3-0 and won the gold medal at a tournament at UCSB over the weekend.
He also plays floor hockey, tennis and volleyball.
Moreno attends SBCC and carries a 3.5 GPA.
VOLLEYBALL
Santa Barbara High: Coach Chad Arneson said his trio of team captains represent the “three C’s of being a captain. That’s caring, courageous and consistent.”
The first, libero/defensive specialist Rowan Peake, is the caring captain. “He has an undeniable passion for the team, for competing and, more importantly, concern for the well being of the team members,” said Arneson. Peake carries a 4.89 GPA and is headed to Cal Poly.
Senior setter Cord Pereira wears the courageous badge. He has more than 250 assists this year. “He’s courageous. Cord is learning how to walk the talk and not be afraid to compete in the worse situations. He’s showing what it takes to be a model of courage and dedication to teammates and coaches,” said Arneson. Cord holds a 4.76 GPA and plans to attend UCLA.
Middle blocker Cooper Johnson is the consistent one of the bunch. “He’s holding himself to a high standard and giving a 100 percent effort in every practice and game,” Arneson said. “This student athlete doesn’t cut corners and earns the respect of his teammates and coaches.” Johnson has a 4.42 GPA.
The Dons (2-0 in league) play at Dos Pueblos on Tuesday.
Dos Pueblos: Boys varsity assistant Chris Jones said the girls beach volleyball team is entering its second year under coaches Ruth McGolpin and Samantha Maas. The team is 3-2 in league after wins over Buena, Arroyo Grande and Santa Ynez. Jones introduced the No. 1 team of Audrey Baldwin and Josie Doughty.
In boys volleyball, the Chargers are 6-6 going into a big Channel League match Tuesday at home against Santa Barbara.
Jones introduced outside hitter Jack Burns, who, in addition to having a great personality, is a great blocker. “He has a great eye for the ball,” the coach said.
Jones also brought setter Alex Cheng. “I’ve seen great growth from him since the season started. That’s nice coming in to league play,” he said.
SBCC: Coach Matt Jones said the Vaqueros need to pick it up in Western State Conference play, where they are 2-3. “We have to find our spark in league.”
Bishop Diego: Assistant athletic director Mike Cano reported that the Cardinals are 7-0, thanks to the play of setter Brolin Parris and libero Sean Tetherow.
UCSB: The seventh-ranked Gauchos return to MPSF action this week at Long Beach State on Wednesday and at Cal State Northridge on Saturday.
SOFTBALL
UCSB: After a rough weekend, coach Brie Galicinao promised her team will be playing its best softball starting this weekend with the Gaucho Classic 2 tournament. The tournament runs Thursday through Saturday.
Galicinao introduced junior leadoff hitter Kristen Clark, who is batting over .450 for the season. Clark also has the highest GPA on the team at 3.80, majoring in microbiology.
Bishop Diego: The Cardinals are off to a slow start at 0-4, “but the girls are competing hard and improving with each game,” said Cano, who is the assistant coach. He introduced seniors Sarah Leicht, a team captain and shortstop, center fielder Francesca Nash, and outfielder Marissa Quintana.
San Marcos: Coach Jeff Swann reported that the Royals are getting a runner on base in 89 percent of the innings they’ve played. Now, “it’s a matter of moving those people around,” he said.
San Marcos is coming off a 4-1 week, with their only loss being a one-run decision against Buena.
Swann introduced sophomore third baseman Hailey Fryklund, who last week hit her first career home run.
The Royals play three straight days this week, starting with a Tuesday game at Arroyo Grande. They host Channel Islands on Wednesday before taking on Dos Pueblos in a Channel League game on Thursday.
Dos Pueblos: Coach Jon Uyesaka introduced the sister act of Nova and Jade Sinskul. Nova, who was named the Athlete of the Week, bats leadoff for the Chargers. “She’s doing just fantastic,” Uyesaka said of the sophomore. “She’s a great athlete. I can put her anywhere on the field and anywhere in the lineup.” She’s batting .400.
Jade is the rock behind home plate. She’s a four-year starter and a co-captain.
“She does an incredible job behind the plate,” said Uyesaka, who added that Jade has committed to play at Marist University next year.
Dos Pueblos (7-2) plays at San Marcos on Thursday.
GOLF
San Marcos: Sam Metzger had a round with nine birdies en route to a 5-under 66 at Rancho San Marcos.
“The team is very focused, it’s a very cohesive unit of golfers, which is just a joy to be around,” said coach Aaron Solis. He introduced seniors Chris Wong and Andrew Rice.
Bishop Diego: Third-year coach Brandon Gama said the team is being led by Matthew Pate and Ryan Mikles. Pate, who aced No. 5 at Rancho San Marcos this season, was first-team all-league last year. Mikles, a three-time match medalist, was named to the second team in 2015.
PREP BASEBALL
Dos Pueblos: Assistant Dan Rhode brought two players who were instrumental in the Chargers beating Santa Barbara and ace pitcher Kevin Gowdy in last Friday’s Channel League opener, senior shortstop Dustin Demeter and junior pitcher Darby Naughton. Naughton threw a complete-game victory and improved to 3-0.
Demeter had a double, two stolen bases and two runs scored in the 6-2 win. He’s committed to the University of Hawaii.
Bishop Diego: Ralph Molina is back at the helm for the Cardinals. “This is my fourth time back doing baseball and my 15th year overall,” he said. Molina has been coaching at his alma mater for 32 years.
He introduced pitchers Will Goodwin and Matt Selman.
“I’m so pleased at where we’re at,” Molina said of the play from his young team. “We’re competing and we have a shot in the Tri-Valley League.”
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