By Jim Buckley
A solid start by a third-year Foresters ace, clutch hitting, and a big zero in the error column all added up to the Foresters’ first victory of the season in the California Collegiate League, a 7–2 win over the MLB Academy Barons. After Tuesday’s error-packed game, this was a great bounce-back win for Santa Barbara as they evened their CCL record at 1–1 (2-3 overall).
Nebraska righthander Tom Lemke, at 6-8 the tallest Foresters pitcher ever, went five innings and allowed only three hits and a run. Meanwhile, Santa Barbara got two runs in the first on a triple by Richard Sanguenetti and a sacrifice fly by Nick Melino. They added two more in the third on a triple by Zach Fish and another sac fly, this one by Jordan Ferris. A three-run bomb by Robert Vickers in the ninth added some nice insurance runs.
Lemke was followed by Michael Kwan, Hunter Lemke, and Willie Kuhl. The latter pair was making their Foresters debuts and together the three relievers allowed only two hits and a lone run among them.
The Foresters play on Thursday in the rubber game of this first CCL series of the season. The Coastal Copy Pregame Show starts at 5:50 p.m. on KZSB 1290 AM; first pitch is set for 6 p.m.
