By Kyle Howie
Two runs from the Foresters could not keep pace with the four runs from the Saints. The Sters’ dropped their first game out of their last 11 and lost 4-2. Santa Barabara made a compelling comeback late in the game, but it would not be enough in the end.
Uncharacteristically, the offense went silent. Max Belyeu had a strong performance with two hits and a run. Additionally, Will Rogers had a hit and a run. Kolby Kmetko went five innings with two earned runs. In relief, Hunter Watkins and Zach Erdman combined to allow just four hits with no runs. The pitching was there, the offense could not support.
The Saints stole two runs in the 2nd inning off poor defense from the Foresters. The usually pristine defense from the ‘Sters allowed Alec Jones to score from third on an error from Michael Lombardi. Richie Morales also scored on a fielder’s choice from Preston Godfrey which put the Saints up 2-0.
In the 4th inning, Morales drove in another run to increase the Saints lead to 3-0. The damage continued against the Foresters when Max Blessinger scored from a sacrifice fly from Kyte McDonald. The Foresters faced one of their biggest deficits of the year in 4-0.
The ‘Sters came alive and threatened the Saints in the top of the 8th. Ryan Black came in to pinch hit and allowed Belyeu to score with an RBI single. Nate Voss hit a sacrifice fly to score Rogers from third. The two runs could not undo the damage.
The Foresters’ win streak comes to an end on Saturday night as the ‘Sters fall to 12-4 overall and 9-4 in CCL play. The third game of the series between the Foresters and the Saints will take place on Sunday at Perishing Park. The first pitch will be thrown out a 2:00 p.m. as the ‘Sters look to get back on track. Sunday’s game can be heard live on AM 1290 radio, listened to online, or streamed live via the Foresters’ website: www.sbforesters.org.
