By Sasha Duda (Photo by Lexi Brintle)
Another big crowd at Sinsheimer Park witnessed a complete bounce-back performance by the Santa Barbara Foresters, who snapped a two-game skid with a convincing 10-3 win over the San Luis Obispo Blues on Sunday night. After being held in check in their previous two contests, the ‘Sters exploded for early runs and leaned on five arms that kept the strikeouts piling up all evening.
Santa Barbara opened the scoring in the second. Brenton Clark worked a leadoff walk before Sawyer Farr ripped a double, allowing Clark to score all the way from first. After a flyout advanced Farr to third, Addison Klepsch kept the pressure on with an RBI single and later stole second. Coleman Ryan followed with a bunt single and a steal of his own, and on a double steal attempt, Klepsch managed to escape a pickle between third and home.
The Foresters continued to rake in the fourth. Chamberlain’s leadoff double was followed by three straight RBI hits: a Hoover double, a Klepsch single, and a Ryan single. Terrence Kiel joined the hit parade with a single of his own, and while the inning ended on a flyout, the damage was done.
Drew Rerick got the start and was dominant early, retiring the first nine batters he faced and striking out six through four innings. He allowed only one hit before being relieved in the fifth by Jaden Barfield, who ran into some trouble after a pair of RBI hits put the Blues on the board.
Still, the Foresters responded in the top half of the sixth. With two on and one out, Chamberlain laced his second double of the game, driving in both runners. That gave Santa Barbara a comfortable cushion, and though the Blues added another run in the seventh, reliever Easton Tumis kept the strikeouts coming, fanning three in the sixth and maintaining the edge.
Steele Eaves entered in a high-pressure situation in the seventh but got out of the jam with a sharp 1-3 double play. Zack James came in during the ninth to close out the Blues. He quickly got all three outs, two by the way of the strikeout, ensuring the ‘Sters would not drop three straight to their rivals.
The Foresters were led offensively by Chamberlain (2-for-4, 2 RBIs), Klepsch (3-for-4, 4 RBIs, 3 SB), and Ryan (2-for-4, RBI, 2SB), while their pitching staff combined for a whopping 14 strikeouts, retiring every Blues starter at least once on strikes.
Santa Barbara improves to 11-3 on the season, looking to carry this momentum going forward. They’ll return home on Friday to play the Conejo Oaks. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 pm, with live radio coverage on the Foresters YouTube channel.
