Foresters Enter NBC World Series Quaterfinals Undefeated
Made Miraculous Comeback in Tuesday Game Against Seattle Studs
The Santa Barbara Foresters are the only undefeated team entering the quarterfinals of the National Baseball Congress World Series at Wichita, Kansas. They knocked off the only other team with an unblemished record, the Seattle Studs, with an 11-5 victory Tuesday night.
For the second time in their last three games, the Foresters erased a 5-0 deficit. Seattle jumped on Santa Barbara’s starting pitcher Riley Boening, a late addition to their roster from the University of Texas, for five runs in the top of the first. Boening settled down and shut out the Studs for the next six innings.
The Foresters did not respond offensively until the fourth inning, but they did it in a big way. Eleven batters came to the plate as Santa Barbara scored six times to take a 6-5 lead. Sean Nicol and Chad Mozingo each had two-run singles in the rally.
Steve Cook’s two-run homer made it 8-5 in the fifth. Matt Hutchison, another newcomer to the pitching staff, took care of Seattle in the last two innings.
Six teams will play in the quarterfinals Wednesday. The schedule will be announced at nbcbaseball.com. If the Foresters win, they will receive an automatic berth in the finals Friday. If they lose, they will play a semifinal game Thursday.
With a 5-0 record in the tournament, and a 26-4 record in July and August, the Foresters are 38-16 overall this summer.
