Palmer Punches Out Seven in Eight Frames Friday at 19th-Ranked UCSB

Friday, April 5

Santa Barbara, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

14-17

#19 UC Santa Barbara

21-5

Stephen F. Austin

UC Santa Barbara

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Palmer Punches Out Seven in Eight Frames Friday at 19th-Ranked UCSB

4/5/2019 7:58:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Junior helps 'Jacks hang with one of nation's best squads

By: Charlie Hurley | Director of Athletic Media Relations

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Junior right-hander Alex Palmer fired eight innings of seven-strikeout ball and freshman outfielder Brandon Uhse scored both of the SFA baseball team's runs but a straight steal of home by UC Santa Barbara's Tommy Jew in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the 19th-ranked Gauchos to a 3-2 victory Friday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.

Palmer turned in a fine outing by allowing just two hits and five total baserunners to one of the nation's top squads. Three of the game's five runs were of the unearned variety and SFA out-hit UC Santa Barbara five to two.

SCORING SUMMARY
T1 | Getting the jump on one of the nation's best teams early on, the 'Jacks used a one-out single from Uhse and the Gauchos' first error of the day to take an early lead. After Uhse swiped second with two outs, UC Santa Barbara shortstop Andrew Martinez mishandled a grounder off the bat of Jordan Monacy that allowed Uhse to come home from second and give SFA a 1-0 lead.

B2 | One of the only bad pitches Palmer made on the afternoon came in the bottom of the second inning when Thomas Rowan got a strong swing on a 2-0 offering and launched it out beyond the fence in the left-field corner. That solo shot knotted matters at 1-1.

T3 | The tie did not last too long as the Gauchos' second and final error of the game allowed SFA to retake the lead. Uhse reached on a mishandled ball by Martinez at short with two outs before swiping second yet again. Senior infielder Manny Vasquez did the rest, notching the 'Jacks' lone RBI of the day with a single to left-center that scored Uhse for the second time and put SFA up 2-1.

B5 | SFA's only error of the game allowed the Gauchos' second run of the day to cross home plate. Armini Smith reached first and advanced to second on an errant throw to first by Palmer. Two one-out wild pitches later, Smith had crossed home plate to make matters 2-2.

B7 | Tommy Jew's leadoff single set the table for some courageous baserunning that ultimately won the game for the Gauchos. Palmer induced a pair of groundouts that allowed Jew to move to second and from there he swiped third by just managing to get under the tag of Vasquez. With Palmer set to deliver a 1-2 pitch to Martinez, Jew broke for home and completed a successful steal of home plate. Martinez would go on to be Palmer's sixth strikeout victim of the afternoon.

AT THE DISH
• In addition to throwing out a would-be base third (his third runner caught stealing of the season), senior catcher Jarrod Huber led the 'Jacks' five-hit attack by going 2-for-3 with a double.
• Nick Daley, Uhse and Vasquez each finished with a single which Uhse scored both of the 'Jacks' runs. Both of those runs scored by the freshman were set up by his two stolen bases.
• Palmer held the Gauchos to only two hits and for the game the home team was allowed only five base runners by SFA's right-hander.

ON THE MOUND
• Despite allowing only two hits and two earned runs in his eight-inning effort, Palmer (3-3) suffered the tough-luck loss. The junior racked up seven strikeouts while issuing a pair of walks.
• For UC Santa Barbara, Ben Brecht (6-0) stayed perfect on the mound by tossing 7 1/3 innings of five-hit, two-run ball. He did not yield an earned run and struck out four.
• Chris Lincoln tossed the final 1 2/3 innings for UC Santa Barbara to get credit for his team-leading seventh save of the season.

ON DECK
• The 'Jacks and Gauchos continue their three-game series Saturday at 4:00 p.m. CT/2:00 p.m. PT. Junior lefty Jacob Stobart will get the ball for SFA as he makes his first Saturday start of the season.

-SFA-