By Tony Villalpando
The Foresters, lead by a three for four night at the plate by Connor McKenna, beat the visiting Arroyo Seco Saints Saturday night at Pershing Park, 6-4. Things went back and forth between the two teams until the sixth inning when the ’Sters finally pulled away for good.
Most of the action happened early, with the Saints jumping out ahead in the top of the second inning with an RBI single by Wyatt Stapp. The ’Sters answered back, courtesy of Connor McKenna’s two-run single in the bottom of the inning. The Saints scored another run in the top of the 3rd inning with an RBI single by Nikolas Pagan. Once again, the ’Sters countered with a two-run bottom of the inning to take a 4-2 lead.
Fast forward to the bottom of the sixth inning, where Brock Helverson came in to pitch. Things got wild for Helverson, as he allowed the first three batters to get on via a walk, double, and hit by pitch. Nolan Tressler then came up for the Saints and tied things up with single that scored two.
The ’Sters made sure to take the lead for good in the bottom of the inning. Connor McKenna came up with two outs and cashed in with an RBI single, his third single for the night.
When speaking after the game about his big night at the plate, McKenna said “It was kind of a slow paced game but I just made sure I stayed locked in the whole time… stuck to my game plan in the 6th and just glad we got the win”
Manager Pintard gave praise to his second baseman’s big night saying, “McKenna came up huge for us with two outs and was an important piece to the win.” He summed things up saying, “two-out hits win championships and we got the job done tonight.”
After being handed the lead in the seventh inning, the bullpen was nails the rest of the way. Connor Curry, Jacob Burton, and Elijah Trest combined to pitch the final three innings to secure the win. The trio in total allowed only one hit and struck out seven.
The Foresters are back at Pershing Sunday for a 2 PM contest to take on the visiting OC Riptide. It’ll be the last regular season meeting for the pair, as the ’Sters look to finish what’s already been a good weekend.
