The Santa Barbara Foresters were shut out in the first game of their rivalry series with the San Luis Obispo Blues, 5-0, on Thursday at Pershing Park.
It was the first loss of the young season for the Foresters (6-1, 3-1 in the California Collegiate League) while the Blues (11-1) won their eighth game in a row.
Santa Barbara sent University of Tennessee right hander Christian Delashmit to the mound while SLO went with Matthew Sox from University of Utah.
The Blues scored a run in the first innng on a RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of Cal Poly SLO’s Tate Samuelson.
The score remained 1-0 until the fifth inning when Cal State Fullerton’s Austin Schell doubled to drive in run for a 2-0 Blues’ lead.
The Foresters’ biggest chance to score came in the bottom of the fifth, when they loaded the bases with two outs. But they were unable to take advantage.
After a throwing error but runners on second and third for the Blues in the seventh, Illinois State’s Ryan Cermak blasted a homer over the center-field fence to extend the lead to 5-0.
The Blues’ pitching held the high-powered Santa Barbara offense to just four hits and struck out 13 Foresters. Sox struck out eight in 4.2 innings.
The Foresters are back in action Friday against Conejo Oaks at 4:30 at Cal Lutheran’s Sparky Anderson Field.