An impressive eight-strikeout, six-inning, one-hit outing by starter Connor Mayes and a barrage of 11 hits lifted the Foresters to a 5-1 win in their UCSB home opener against the Ventura Halos.
From the first inning, when Mayes struck out the first two batters he faced, the righty from Austin, Texas, was on the top of his game. Without walking a single batter, Mayes gave up just one hit and at one point retired a staggering 16 straight Halos.
The Foresters’ bats took care of the rest, producing 11 hits—the third time this season they have broken into double digits. Connor McManigal led the way, going 3 for 4, while Colby Barrick and Kyle Isbel chipped in with two hits apiece. The ’Sters put up their first three runs with a string of four straight hits in an exciting two-out-rally in the bottom of the second. With one out in the fifth, Reagan Todd launched a sac fly into the stratosphere that was gloved on the warning track by Halos right fielder Patrick Britt. An error by the second baseman on the cutoff throw to the infield allowed Steven Coe to come in and score.
The Foresters’ offense took an aggressive approach to baserunning, with three steals and several hit-and-run plays. Manager Bill Pintard said after the game, “We’re aggressive. We’re going to stay aggressive. You can look for us to keep doing that.”
With back-to-back wins, the ’Sters look for three in a row, as they play in Ventura against the Halos Wednesday night at 5 pm.—Matthew Selman
