Lights out pitching and an opportunistic offense helped the Santa Barbara Foresters take one step closer toward their goal of finishing atop the California Collegiate League South Standings.
The Foresters set the tone with three runs in the bottom of the second inning and added five more in the bottom of the third inning on their way to a 10-3 victory over the Philippines Baseball Group on Thursday Afternoon at Eddie Mathews Field.
“We haven’t been getting ahead; we’ve been playing from behind,” said Foresters manager Bill Pintard. “I think half of our wins have been come-from-behind wins, which is good to know that you can do, but I sure like getting ahead, and because of that lead, we were able to get guys some work today.”
Noah Waldeck from St. Mary’s University has been pitching primarily out of the bullpen for the Foresters this summer, but took advantage of his opportunity to start the game against the Philippines, holding them to one run on three hits in his four innings on the mound.
“We are a little banged up with our pitching staff going into Wichita, but Waldeck pitched well enough to show that he could start for us in Wichita,” Pintard said. “He is getting better every outing.”
The Foresters found their stride offensively in the second inning. Brenton Clark walked and stole second, setting the stage for Mic Paul, who delivered an RBI single to bring him home. Paul then stole both second and third before scoring on a sac fly from Zane Becker. Makani Nabarro added an RBI single to give Santa Barbara a 3-0 lead.
Becker led the way for the Foresters with three RBI in the game. Despite only finishing with one hit, he was able to do his job at the plate in each at-bat.
“It was definitely a situational day; that’s what we work on in the cage pregame,” Becker said. “Any situation that comes up, we are ready for it, and it showed today.”
The Foresters exploded for five runs in the third inning as Sawyer Farr knocked in Easton Moomau with a single, followed by a 2-RBI double from Caden Miller, who would later score on another Becker sac fly. By the end of the inning, Santa Barbara held a commanding 8-1 lead.
Josh Hyneman and Tyler Phenow both pitched two scoreless innings in relief to help the Foresters secure the victory.
With the win, the Foresters improve to 21-9 in CCL play and remain half a game ahead of Conejo Oaks for first place with two CCL games remaining.
Thursday’s game was sponsored by the Santa Barbara Independent and featured a robust crowd at Eddie Mathews Field.
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