By Jalen Kang
Pitching and patience were the names of the game for the ’Sters, as they drew 12 walks en route to a 7-0 shutout victory over the Conejo Oaks on Saturday evening.
Starter Mason Bixby went 4.0 innings with just one walk in his second start in a row with no runs allowed.
“My slider felt awesome today. With this team, I mean, you give up a ground ball, and sometimes you’re already walking back to the dugout. You know you got guys like Souza, TJ, Patty, that really helps,” said Bixby.
The hard-throwing righty recorded his first nine outs by way of the grounder, attacking the strike zone and challenging Oaks hitters.
Ty Baker continued his dominance out of the bullpen, fanning 6 Oaks (13-7 CCL) in 3.2 innings of relief. Jake Dixon made his first appearance with the Foresters and completed the 3-hit shutout, taking care of the last 1.1 innings while striking out 3.
“[Baker] was just committed to throwing that curveball,” said pitching coach Ryan Kramer.
“You gotta spin it before you can place it, and I think sometimes guys get so concerned with the outcome that they forget how it works. He was just committed to spinning it in the zone, staying aggressive, and eventually that helps your fastball too,” said Kramer.
Nolan Souza kickstarted the ’Sters (16-7, 14-7 CCL) off to a 2-0 lead with his eighth and ninth RBIs of the summer. After a Kaden Peterson single and a Jonah Sebring walk, Souza smoked a line drive over the Oaks’ center fielder to score both runners.
The ’Sters took advantage with the bases loaded to add two more in the third, with TJ Pompey and Jonny Rodriguez tallying RBIs in the inning.
In the fourth, the ’Sters tallied 5 of their 12 walks in that inning alone to plate two more insurance runs. In the seventh, Jackson Freeman got in on the action with an RBI single to put the cherry on top of the 7-run victory.
The ’Sters move back into sole possession of first place in the CCL South with tonight’s victory. They cap off the weekend at home with Sunday afternoon action vs. the MLB Academy Barons at Eddie Mathews Field at 2 p.m.
