By Jalen Kang
It took less than two and a half hours for the Foresters to secure a great team win over the Alameda Merchants. Starter Hudson Hamilton’s two-run performance and consistent offense from the whole lineup highlighted the 6-2 ’Sters victory.
In his third start of the summer, Hamilton attacked the zone for all 6.0 innings of his outing in his best performance yet. He faced the minimum after three innings and finished with just 4 hits allowed and 2 walks while striking out 5.
“Everything felt really good. We’ve been working on my curveball and changeup for a few weeks now, so being able to throw them in game and get that type of reaction from the other team was awesome. I felt like everything that was in play, my teammates were gonna get an out out of it, so I just had to fill up the zone,” said Hamilton.
Kaden Peterson continued to be a pest for opposing teams out of the leadoff spot by single-handedly manufacturing a run on the basepaths in the opening ABs for the ’Sters (10-5, 9-5 CCL). He walked, stole his team-leading seventh base, and scored thanks to two wild pitches to start the ’Sters off with a 1-0 lead.
In the third, Ryan Tayman doubled and was driven in by a Jonah Sebring RBI single for the ’Sters’ second run.
A ’Sters four-spot in the bottom of the fifth was the icing on the cake of a take-care-of-business day at the office.
After a hit by pitch and error put two men on, Sebring and TJ Pompey took advantage and recorded back-to-back RBI singles. Sebring and Pompey were both able to work their way around and score two more runs after two Merchant errors in one play. The crooked number in the fifth would be one of the defining moments of the contest as the ’Sters held on to their lead comfortably the rest of the way.
Ty Baker earned a save after an electric 3.0 shutout innings out of the bullpen. The hard-throwing righty had the Merchants lineup guessing, allowing just 1 hit and no walks while striking out 5 to secure the win.
The ’Sters look to make it three in a row as they remain at home tomorrow to take on the Ventura Pirates at 4:30 pm. Come out to Eddie Mathews Field to see your ’Sters or catch the game on your device by visiting our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@SantaBarbaraForesters19.
