The Foresters’ bats rapped out fourteen runs on fifteen hits, while Tanner Lawson pitched a solid five innings, propelling the Foresters to a win in their second and final game of the season against the SoCal Catch.
After the inning and a half, it looked the sun-baked crowd at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium might see a pitchers’ duel. But in the bottom of the second, the Foresters used a couple hits and a few walks to bring in three runs. Lex Kaplan led off the inning with a hard-hit grounder that went for a single. Later in the frame, with the bases loaded and one out, Matt Henderson cashed in two runs with a stand-up double.
While the Foresters’ bats had a spectacular day—highlighted by a six-run sixth—it was the pitching staff that kept this one out of reach for the Catch. Three Foresters relievers followed five innings of two-run ball with four innings of shutout work. Steven Wells, Austin Blessing, and Max Gibbs worked hard, giving up only one hit in the final four innings.
While seven Foresters had at least one hit and six notched two or more, Tyler Adkison pulled the most weight on Wednesday night, going 2 for 3 with three runs and three RBI. After the game, Adkison, who was the EP 19 Player of the Game said, “I think right now the biggest thing at the plate for me is I’m feeling comfortable and seeing the ball pretty well. Just going up there with confidence can take you a long way.”
With another “up” section of what has become an eight-day roller coaster ride for the ‘Sters, Santa Barbara hopes to stay strong in their next game: a heavyweight match against the Academy Barons, a team that trails them in second place by only one game in the CCL standings. The first pitch will be at 5:05 pm on Thursday night at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.—Matthew Selman
Photos by Eric Isaacs
Foresters slugger Lex Kaplan rips a base hit in Wednesday night’s contest against the SoCal Catch.
