Foresters Go 3-0 in Pool Play, Head into NBC Quarters

The Santa Barbara Foresters nabbed the three victories they needed for their manager, Bill Pintard, to achieve a National Baseball Congress milestone. They need three more to claim a seventh NBC World Series championship.

The Foresters’ 6-2 victory over the Colorado Sox on Wednesday was Pintard’s 100th in 23 appearances at the tournament in Wichita, Kansas. It assured them a game in Friday’s quarterfinals after sweeping through their pool. They also defeated Kansas’s Derby Twins (6-4) and the San Diego Force (4-0).

From now on, it’s win or go home. Santa Barbara’s opponent in the 11 a.m. (PDT) Friday game will be the Everett (Washington) Merchants. Everett was runner-up in Pool A to the Kansas Stars, a team of retired major leaguers who are drawing big crowds to the stadium in Wichita.

Former Atlanta Braves star Chipper Jones made his debut Wednesday for the Stars, who outscored their first three opponents, 21-3. They will face the Derby Twins in the quarterfinals.

The Foresters won their sixth national title last year after the Kansas Stars, making their debut in Wichita, lost in the semifinals. If both teams make it through Friday’s games and Saturday’s semifinals, they would meet for the first time Sunday with the championship at stake.