The Santa Barbara Foresters’ journey to a fourth straight NBC World Series title started with a bang, as the ‘Sters took down the Five Tool Kraken by a score of 10-0 in Wichita, Kan. on Friday.
Santa Barbara secured a six-inning run-rule victory thanks to a shutout from Zane Petty and a steady dose of offense.
The offense came early, with the Foresters bringing four runs across in the first thanks to a pair of RBI groundouts and a two-run triple from Eamonn Lance.
After the second inning saw another RBI groundout extend Santa Barbara’s lead to 5-0, Miguel Santos found the outfield seats for the team’s first homer of the World Series in the third.
As the offense continued to expand upon the lead, Petty was twirling a gem. The righthander from Texas Tech did not allow a hit in the first four innings. His final line included six scoreless innings, two hits allowed and six strikeouts.
The 10-0 run-rule win was secured in the bottom of the sixth with a walk-off knock by Lance, who ended the game 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored.
Pool play will continue for the Foresters on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. PT against either the Great Bend Bat Cats or Sandlot Tulsa, according to sbforesters.org.