College Roundup: Thurman blanks Gauchos

IRVINE — UC Irvine sophomore Andrew Thurman continued his Big West Conference mound mastery Friday, throwing a four-hit shutout in the Anteaters 2-0 Big West Conference victory over visiting UC Santa Barbara.

The win allows UCI to pull into a three-way tie for third in the Big West

Thurman has now won four straight starts and pitched three straight complete games, beginning with a no-hitter at Long Beach State on April 20.

In those four starts, Thurman has allowed just two earned runs and 10 hits in 35 innings. His ERA during the streak is 0.51. He is 6-2 with a 2.61 ERA on the season after striking out six and walking three Friday.

Senior first baseman Jordan Fox went two for three to pace the Anteaters’ six-hit attack, which included fifth-inning RBI singles by senior second baseman Tommy Reyes and freshman designated hitter Connor Spencer.

Jeff Stephens and Christian Ramirez also had hits for the winners (25-17, 9-7 in conference), who have won five straight.

UCSB fell to 23-20, 9-7.

The series continues Saturday at 1 p.m.

•SOFTBALL

NAIA qualifying tournament

IRVINE — Vanguard University won its morning game, 6-5, against Simpson, but fell, 8-5, in an elimination game to Hope International later Friday in the six-team Unaffiliated Grouping tournament, the winner of which earns an automatic berth into the NAIA Tournament.

Taylor Hallahan went three for seven with two runs batted in in the two games for the Lions (33-24), while Brittney Boggs was three for eight with three RBIs.

Vanguard rallied from a 4-0 deficit to top Simpson, but squandered a 4-3 lead against Hope.

The tournament, at Concordia University, included teams from three conferences.

•WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD

Big West Conference Multi-Event Championships

IRVINE — UC Irvine sophomore Lacey Surak is 10th after four events in the heptathlon at the Big West Conference Multi-Event Championships on Friday at UCI.

Competing in her first heptathlon, Surak has 2,532 points, including 746 earned with a time of 15.74 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, and 727 points with a time of 26.82 in the 200.

UC Santa Barbara’s Barbara Nwaba, the 2010 Big West heptathlon champion, leads the 13-competitor field with 3,648 points.

The event concludes on Saturday.