WEST REGIONAL REPORT : UCSB’s Kritscher Wouldn’t Be Handcuffed

Playing with a broken hand was better than sitting with a broken heart, so Ryan Kritscher convinced UC Santa Barbara Coach Bob Brontsema to pencil him into the lineup Thursday against Mississippi State.

“I couldn’t miss this,” said Kritscher, a senior transfer from Southern Mississippi who played at Thousand Oaks High.

Kritscher had a single and walk in four plate appearances against Bulldog All-American left-hander Eric DuBose and is batting a team-high .398. He served as designated hitter rather than playing left field because of the injury, sustained diving back to first base May 3 against Cal State Fullerton.

“It hurt more and more as the game went on,” said Kritscher, a former Little League and American Legion teammate of Northridge catcher Robert Fick. “If we face a right-hander [today] I probably won’t play.”

DuBose pitched his 11th complete game in defeating the Gauchos, 6-2. The only extra-base hit he allowed was a double to third baseman Louis Tapia, a senior from Notre Dame High. Tapia also singled.

Also for UCSB, Chris Frith-Smith, a senior from Montclair Prep and Monroe, pitched two-thirds of an inning, and Justin Balzer, a sophomore from El Camino Real, struck out as a pinch-hitter.

UCSB has strong recruiting ties in the Valley because Brontsema is a Valley native who attended Chatsworth High and helped College of the Canyons to the junior college state championship in 1981.

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The only area player on Stanford’s roster is Jon Schaeffer, a sophomore designated hitter who is heir apparent to replace A.J. Hinch at catcher next season.

Schaeffer is tied with Hinch for the team lead in home runs with 11 and is batting .278 with 43 runs batted in.

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Florida State (48-15), seeded No. 1, flattened Northeastern Illinois (31-28), 16-0, scoring five runs in the first inning and leading 9-0 after three.

Jeremy Morris hit two home runs, a double and single, and drove in four runs.

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In games today, Northridge will play Northeastern Illinois at 11 a.m. Florida State will face UCSB at 3 p.m., and Stanford will play Mississippi State at 7 p.m.