By Kyle Howie
The Foresters’ outfielders made scoring a strenuous task for the Oaks today as left fielder Ryan Black and right fielder Max Belyeu hosed two Oaks down at the plate to save the game as the Foresters defeated the Oaks 4-3 at home. Black hit a clutch double to tie the game and Greg Pace hit a no-doubt go-ahead home run to win the game in the 7th inning. Foresters’ pitchers Zane Petty and Zac Colletti also held their own, allowing only 3 runs.
The Oaks started the scoring right off the bat with an RBI double from Brendan Durfee scoring Zach Daudet for a 1-0 lead. In the next inning, Rylan Galvan got his job done and grounded into a fielder’s choice to the Oaks’ shortstop allowing Daniel Patterson to score from third. Galvan used his wheels to beat the throwout and avoid the inning-ending double play.
The Oaks regained the lead in the top of the 3rd inning. Eli Paton hit a ball to the warning track in center and a makable play was dropped by Pace. Austin Carrillo came around to score to take a 2-1 lead. Chris Wright then laced a single to left field to bring in Durfee. The Oaks could have had a lopsided inning in the 3rd, but Black took matters into his own hands, and on the same play he gunned down Paton at the plate. Paton tried to score from second on the hit from Wright. Black limited the damage to just two runs, which ultimately kept the game alive.
After his stellar defensive play, Black hit a sacrifice fly to center in the 4th which allowed Rocco Garaza-Gongora to trot home from third to make it a 3-2 ball game. Black’s heroics continued in the 6th inning when he doubled to left-center field and Patterson scored from second after a common stolen base. Pace made up for his error in the 7th inning when he blasted a ball over the center field wall to give the Foresters a 4-3 lead.
The Oaks posed a threat in the 8th inning, getting two runners in scoring position with no outs. Daudet led off the inning with a walk and Durfee singled to put the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first. Both runners advanced to third and second on a Colletti wild pitch. Just when it looked like the Oaks were going to take control, Paton hit a fly ball to right field. Belyeu caught the ball a delivered a strike to Galvan to tag out Daudet at home on an attempt to tag up to maintain a one-run lead. The game-saving double play set up a pop-out to Jalin Flores at shortstop to end the inning.
Petty started the game for the ‘Sters and was charged with only 1 earned run and allowed 6 hits through 5 innings. Colletti came on in relief and slammed the door. His final line, through 4 innings, consisted of 0 runs, 5 strikeouts, 4 hits, and the win. Both pitchers were able to deal with some traffic and get out of a few jams.
The energy is high and the Foresters continue their hot streak at the right time. The 4-3 win puts the Foresters at 29-10 overall and 24-10 in CCL play. With the division already clinched, the Foresters continue to keep their foot on the gas pedal and look to keep the good morale during their road trip to Wichita, Kansas. The Foresters will look to end the regular season off on the right foot against the San Luis Obispo Blues. The game will start at 2:00 p.m. at Pershing Park or the game can be heard live on AM 1290 radio; or listen online or stream live via the Foresters’ website, www.sbforesters.org.
