The Foresters will welcome the upcoming CCL All-Star break, as the team’s struggles continued on Sunday in a 7-5 come-from-ahead loss to the San Luis Blues. Up 5-4 in the eighth, the Foresters allowed three runs to score without the ball (barely) leaving the infield.
Santa Barbara fell behind 2-1 early, with Tyler Casagrande’s run-scoring groundout scoring Andrew Kachel (pictured), who had tripled. The Foresters scored three in the fourth, stringing together hits from Tanner O’Tremba, Ryan Wrobleski, and Kachel, all of who came around to score thanks to their teammates. All three batters, the heart of the lineup, had at least two hits on the day.
A single run in the fifth on a big Wrobleski double put Santa Barbara up 5-3. The Blues scored in the sixth to pull within one, and then the disaster of the eighth. An infield single, a controversial hit-by-pitch (did the ball hit bat or hand on strike two? The Foresters said bat, the umps said hand), a sacrifice that turned into an error, another fielder’s choice, and just like that it was 7-5.
Foresters starter Ben Abram had a solid six-inning outing, letting in only three runs. A huge highlight for the fans on Community West Bank Day was a home-run-robbing catch by centerfielder Kendall Pettis in the ninth. He leaped at the wall at the 390-foot sign to snag a ball destined for the Pershing Park softball diamond.
A half-dozen or more Foresters will take part in the CCL All-Star Game and Showcase on Wednesday. The full team will return to action on Thursday, July 15 at 6 pm at Pershing Park, again against the Blues. Let’s pack the park and make it a loud night; tune in to AM 1290 if you can’t be there in person.
