Ben Bybee and Robert Cranz combined for a masterful no-hit pitching performance in a 3-0 Foresters win in the quarterfinals of the NBC World Series against the Denver Cougars on Thursday.
Santa Barbara will now face off against the Seattle Studs in the semifinals on Friday at 6:30 p.m. PT. The Foresters and Studs have played each other 10 times at the NBC World Series.
Bybee got the nod to start the quarterfinal matchup and cruised, striking out 10 hitters in six innings while allowing just one base runner via a walk.
Cranz then took over for Bybee and followed suit, striking out eight of the nine batters he faced in three perfect innings of work.
Offensively, the Foresters cracked the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third on a throwing error by the Cougar pitcher that brought home Ryan Galvan.
Will Rogers then added to the lead in the fourth with an RBI sacrifice fly to score Max Belyeu, who doubled earlier in the frame.
The third and final run scored by Santa Barbara came in the bottom of the eighth with a solo shot off the bat of Miguel Santos over the left field wall.
Bybee and Cranz’s dominant performance was the second combined no-hitter of the summer for the Foresters and their sixth all-time.
Santa Barbara will look to carry this momentum over to the semifinal matchup against the Studs on Friday in Wichita, Kan.
