By Kyle Howie
The Foresters stunned the Riptide with an 11th-inning, five-run comeback win. After the pitching tossed a no-hitter on Thursday night, it was the offense’s turn to carry the load. Three home runs from Rylan Galvan, Max Belyeu, and Greg Pace powered the Foresters to a 10-9 win.
The Riptide jumped on the Foresters in the 3rd inning with a groundout from Reese Chapman that scored Cooper Dulich for a 1-0 lead. Rylan Galvan promptly responded with a solo home run to knot the game up at 1-1. Chapman continued to add on runs for the Riptide with a two-run blast to put his team up 3-1. Another home run from Max Belyeu cut the Foresters’ deficit to one run with a solo shot to left field. The ‘Sters took the lead 4-3 in the 7th inning due to a Greg Pace home run that scored Galvan from second.
The Foresters were one out away from winning the ball game until the Riptide tied the game 4-4 on a wild pitch. Both teams scored their base runners from second base and then the Riptide put up a four spot in the 11th inning. They scored their ghost runner and a crucial error from Ryan Black allowed the bases to clear for the Riptide and they went up 9-5.
Just when the game seemed out of reach, the Foresters never gave up. Two costly errors by the Riptide boosted the Foresters to a 10-9 walkoff victory. Belyeu singled to left field to score Pace for the winning run. After the game, the Foresters’ manager, Bill Pintard, commented on his team’s grit, “I have been coaching for a long time and this team refuses to believe that they are out of anything. I love them so much. We are thin, we are injured, we are tired, we are beat up, but we do not quit”.
The Foresters move to three and a half games in first place over the Riptide in the CCL standings. The Foresters have now taken four out of five games from the Riptide. The Foresters will travel to Orange County on Saturday night to take on the Riptide at 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard live on AM 1290 radio; or listen online or stream live via the Foresters’ website, www.sbforesters.org.
