By Barry Punzal,
Noozhawk Sports Editor
UCSB junior left-handed pitcher Zach Torra has been named an All-American by the publication Collegiate Baseball.
Torra, a former Santa Ynez High star, was selected to the third team after posting a 3-0 record with a 0.36 earned run average in four starts during the shortened college baseball season. The Gauchos were 13-2 when all collegiate sports were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is the seventh All-American during Andrew Checketts’ nine years as coach of the Gauchos.
After transferring from Cuesta College, Torra was impressive in his first season at the NCAA Division 1 level. He held opponents scoreless in three of his four appearances and limited them to a lowly .133 batting average. He surrendered only one earned run while striking out 39 of 83 batters.
Torra had a stellar outing against Abilene Christian on Feb. 21, striking out 13 strikeouts in six innings of a 6-1 victory at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. He came three strikeouts short of a UCSB record.
Torra won a CIF-Southern Section baseball title at Santa Ynez High in 2014 and led the Pirates to a 29-1 record. He pitched a three-hit shutout in the Division 5 final, a 2-0 win over Village Christian.
At Cuesta College, he had 84 strikeouts over 80.2 innings before transferring to UCSB.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com.
