By Jalen Kang
Down to their last out trailing 4-0, the Foresters waited until the 9th inning to get on the board and brought the winning run to the plate, but ultimately fell to the Conejo Oaks 4-2 on Thursday evening.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the ‘Sters tapped into a next-man-up-approach. Jonny Rodriguez, Jack Holman, and Ryan Tayman all found a way on to bring the tying run to the plate. Nik Sanders came off the bench and delivered a two-RBI single to avoid the shutout, but the ‘Sters couldn’t keep the rally going to force extra innings or walk it off.
Three ‘Sters pitchers, led by starter Hudson Hamilton, did a great job limiting the Oaks offense.
Hamilton finished with 5.0 IP, just 3 hits, a walk, and one earned run while striking out 6. Ty Baker and Diego Ramos both gave 2.0 innings in relief, with Ramos racking up 4 K’s using his hard sinker-slider combo.
The good news is, the ‘Sters have a quick turnaround to bounce back. Show out at Eddie Mathews Field tomorrow for some Friday night baseball when the ‘Sters take on the Ventura Pirates. Watch or listen to ‘Sters baseball from anywhere by visiting our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@SantaBarbaraForesters19.
