BOX SCORE
Photo of Michael Neustifter by Vic Neuman
By Patrick Hunter
Fans who attended Saturday evening’s game saw the Santa Barbara Foresters take on league rival Conejo Oaks witnessed a rare event: a Foresters loss. Santa Barbara struggled to gain any momentum on offense and defense and fell for only the fourth time in 2018, 9–3.
Starter Jackson Wolf kicked off the game with three two strong innings, but slipped up in the top of the third after allowing the Oaks to claim an early 1-0 lead.
The Oaks rode this momentum to pick up two more runs in the next inning, pushing their lead to 3-0 on the night.
With two strong innings behind them already, the Oaks exploded for a big top of the fifth, scoring six runs to push their total to nine before the ’Sters even touched the scoreboard.
The Foresters fought hard, but most had tough days at the plate. They did not go down without a fight. In the bottom of the fifth, Michael Neustifter launched a hard-hit double off the wall that brought John Jensen home for Santa Barbara’s first run of the night. Tyler Hardman scored off of an error, but the score still showed a huge margin in favor of the Oaks, 9-2.
First baseman Cameron Warren continued his good stretch of play, knocking in the ’Sters final run of the night with a hard grounder over the first baseman.
The Foresters will look to bounce back against the Conejo Oaks on Sunday, July 22, at 2pm. It’s the last home weekend game of the summer for the Foresters—Cottage Health Systems Day and Host Family Appreciation Day.
