Brewers Keep Streak Alive
by Nate Loop
The Brewers came into the series with the Foresters riding a 13 game winning streak. They took their time, but extended it to 14 after the 14 inning marathon of yesterday (and today). The Brewers just kept on trucking today, pulling out a 4-2 victory over the Foresters (in nine innings this time). The game was sponsored by Bank of Santa Barbara.
The Foresters drew first blood, scoring a run in the second inning. Ryan O’Hearn laced a 1-0 fastball from Brewers starter Garrett Kraemer into the gap in right-center for a double. Arby Fields then reached due to an error by shortstop Michael Hill, who couldn’t handle the sharp grounder, the ball rolling into the outfield and allowing O’Hearn to scamper across home for the 1-0 lead.
Nick Palewicz took the mound for the ‘Sters, bringing a 4-1 record and a penchant for racking up strikeouts into the game. He looked sharp through the first four innings, but everything came apart at the seams in the fifth inning. He allowed four singles and a walk before even recording an out, and the Brewers scored three runs, with Josh Fuentes collecting two RBIs on his single and Travis Clark getting one of his own.
The Foresters got one run back in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-2, as Peter Cuomo came across to score on a fielder’s choice.
The Brewers stretched the advantage back to two runs in the 8th inning, courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Michael Hill, allowing Dimitri De La Fuente to tag and score from third.
The Foresters got two runners on in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, but the rally could not be sustained, and Brewers pitcher Ryan Sandler came in to the game to get the final groundout from Austin Davidson, and keep the Brewers winning streak alive.
Palewicz picked up his second loss of the season, and the Foresters record drops to 23-11, and 13-7 in CCL play (putting them in a first place tie with the San Luis Obispo Blues).
The third and final game of the series will be an afternoon game rather than the customary Sunday 1pm start. Tomorrow’s game will be starting at 5:10p.m. at UCSB.
