Bradon Boissiere ripped a two-run triple to tie the score in the eighth inning and Noah Cardenas followed with a game-winning sacrifice fly to give the Santa Barbara Foresters a 3-2 victory over the Santa Maria Pea Soup Baseball Club on Saturday at Pershing Park.
Boissiere drove in Matthew McLain and Jace Jung, who opened the inning with back-to-back singles off Santa Maria reliever Alex Boshers.
Sean Mullen retired Santa Maria in order in the ninth, and the Foresters won their sixth straight.
“It was really good for us to get tested,” Santa Barbara manager Bill Pintard told SBForesters.org. “It was good for us to be behind, to be down and then to come back.
“The Foresters never say die. We always keep plugging away, so it’s great to see this team continuing that tradition. I smelled it a little bit that we were going to get him.”
Santa Barbara’s offense was stymied by the team of professional and college players. Starting pitcher Andrew Bash, who was drafted by the L.A. Angels last year, held the Foresters to three hits and two walks in four innings.
Boshers, who played at the Double-A level, walked two and didn’t allow a hit until McLain and Jung broke through in the eighth. He got Peyton Graham to ground out before Boissiere blasted his triple to center field and Cardenas hit his sac fly to left.
Luke Taggart started for the Foresters and pitched five innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. The runs came on a two-run homer by Nick Gatewood, a minor leaguer in the San Diego Padres system who was released last month.
Jack Cunningham and Mullen each threw two shutout innings to finish the game. Santa Maria had a runner reach third with one out in the top of the eighth. Mullen, however, got Gatewood to hit a comebacker that he turned into a double play.
Mullen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
“It was fun to watch that comeback and a fun game to close out,” Mullen told SBForesters.org. “Every inning I pitch I’m in attack mode, just go after hitters. Being in the ninth-inning or a closer situation, it’s always that mentality for me.”
The Foresters (10-1) and Santa Maria play their second game of their five-game series on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Due to county and city health guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, no fans are allowed to attend games at Pershing Park.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.