By Jim Buckley: The Foresters headed south to play the MLB Academy Barons on Tuesday in Compton, but apparently left their bats in Santa Barbara. A quintet of Barons pitchers held the Foresters to only five hits on the way to a 4-2 victory for MLB, only Santa Barbara’s second loss of the season.
Santa Barbara took the lead in the first—hot-hitting Andrew Kachel (.441) led off the game with a double and later scored on a Ryan Wrobleski groundout. Kachel had two of the ’Sters hits and also reached on a walk. However, the Barons tied it in the second, advancing a pair of singles with a pair of groundouts to get one across.
Santa Barbara starter Carson Lambert scattered five hits and left with the score tied 1-1 but with a man on third in the fifth. With runners on the corners after a walk, reliever Peyton Cole balked in the run to give the MLB Academy the lead.
The Barons padded their lead in the seventh, with Scott Ellis on for Cole. Academy put runners on the corners again with a pair of singles. With the runner from first moving with two outs, the Barons hit a ball into the hole at second base that scored their third run of the game. After walks loaded the bases with two outs, Ellis walked in another run to make it 4-1. (In a statistical quirk, at this point the Barons had the bases loaded with three J. Williamses—Jordan, Jaelen, and James.) Nick Proctor came on in relief and induced a groundout to get out of the inning.
In the eighth, Santa Barbara got one back via new arrival Tanner O’Tremba. Kachel reached on a walk and advanced to second on an HBP. O’Tremba scored Kachel with a single to left. Santa Barbara then loaded the bases with two outs but left them that way.
The Foresters are on the road again on Wednesday, heading to Irvine to play the OC Riptide. Tune in to AM 1290 KZSB to hear all the action. The Foresters return to Pershing Park on Thursday for a 6 pm game vs the SLO Blues.
