Behind a strong pitching effort and a three-run homer by Greg Pace, the Foresters took down the OC Riptide 4-3 on Thursday at Pershing Park.
Santa Barbara swept the Riptide this week, bringing the Forester record to 8-3 in league play and giving them sole possession of first place in the California Collegiate League.
Before the game began, the Foresters held a moment of silence for Santa Barbara baseball legend Fred Warrecker, who passed away earlier this week.
“[Warrecker] was Santa Barbara baseball,” Forester manager Bill Pintard said. “He gave me a shot, made me better and we became good friends over the years. Nobody could tell a story like Fred Warrecker.”
In the top of the first, it seemed like the game was going to be all Riptide, as they took advantage of softly hit singles and a pair of wild pitches to take an early 3-0 lead on Santa Barbara pitcher Zane Petty.
However, Petty settled in and cruised the rest of the way, throwing five innings and allowing the three first-inning runs while striking out nine. The outing was the longest by a Forester pitcher so far this summer.
“They didn’t hit anything hard,” Pintard said about Petty’s outing. “He’s a competitor and he competed. He settled down and gave us enough to win.”
Like the Riptide, the Foresters found all of their offense in one inning. After a pair of singles in the bottom of the second, Pace, an outfielder from the University of Michigan, unloaded on a ball over the left-field fence to tie the game at 3-3.
Following Pace, Gianni Horvat made his way into scoring position after a single and a stolen base to set up an RBI opportunity for Westmont’s Daniel Patterson.
Patterson came through, roping a single up the middle and scoring Horvat to give the Foresters the 4-3 lead that would hold for the remainder of the game.
Petty was relieved by a pair of Westmont arms in Zach Yates and Sean Youngerman. Yates struck out three in three scoreless innings while Youngerman shut the door in the ninth.
The Foresters, Riptide and Arroyo Seco Saints now each have at least eight wins in league play, setting up for a tight race in the next month.
“The conference is really good,” Pintard said. “For us to win that one on the road and come back and win at home, I think we’re on the verge of really getting it going.”
Santa Barbara (8-3) will take its nine-game winning streak into a matchup with the Saints (9-5) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Pershing Park.
