{"id":880,"date":"2016-08-14T04:03:48","date_gmt":"2016-08-14T04:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakdance.ameravant.com\/sbforesters\/2016\/08\/14\/champions-foresters-win-record-tying-sixth-nbc-world-series\/"},"modified":"2023-05-12T15:36:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T22:36:11","slug":"champions-foresters-win-record-tying-sixth-nbc-world-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbforesters.org\/champions-foresters-win-record-tying-sixth-nbc-world-series\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAMPIONS! Foresters Win Record-Tying Sixth NBC World Series!"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Santa Barbara Foresters had one goal when they headed to Wichita for the 82nd NBC World Series: Dogpile.<\/p>\n
With a dominating 6-2 win over the Hays Larks, it was mission accomplished. The Foresters claimed their record-tying sixth national championship. Lefty pitcher Jacob Patterson made his first start for the team and was superb, throwing seven shutout innings. The Foresters offense gave him lots of support, staking him to a 4-0 lead after two innings and playing perfect defense behind him.<\/p>\n
The final out of the championship game and the Foresters\u2019 2016 season came on a ground ball to first baseman Hunter Williams. He tossed the ball to relief pitcher Cody Crouse, who beat the Larks\u2019 Michael Burns to the bag.<\/p>\n
Cue the dogpile.<\/p>\n
“Number six is all good, but this was number one for this team,\u201d said an enthusiastic and Gatorade-drenched manager Bill Pintard. \u201cThese guys from the beginning of the year, they just worked so hard and cared for each other so much. They genuinely loved each other. They were consistently unselfish. I knew in my heart that this team was going to do it.”<\/p>\n
They did it with superb pitching (earning the NBC World Series award for best pitching staff), clutch hitting (three two-out RBI hits in the final game alone), outstanding defense (another NBC award as the top fielding club), team speed (14 stolen bases in six games), and the kind of unselfish, joyous, hard-charging baseball for which the Foresters have come to be known in their more than two decades of excellence.<\/p>\n
The championship game Saturday night capped off a very unusual morning-evening doubleheader. To reach the final, the Foresters had to win one of the most thrilling games in their history. In the semifinal against the San Diego Force, the Foresters had to rally from a 4-0 deficit before tying the game in the eighth inning on a Colby Barrick pinch-hit double. Then in the 12th, the Force took a 6-4 lead. In the bottom of that inning, though, the Foresters got a two-RBI single from Bret Boswell and a two-out, walkoff single from Lex Kaplan for a dramatic 7-6 that ended at 4:25 am Wichita time.<\/p>\n