Strong performances from starter Robert Cranz and the bullpen enabled the Santa Barbara Foresters to beat the Academy Barons, 4-1, on Thursday in Compton.
Cranz, a 6-foot-3 right-hander from Wichita State, threw four shutout innings and struck out four to earn his first win of the summer.
Out of the bullpen, Matthew Magre had three strikeouts in the sixth inning, Peyton Cole and Zach Tonneree tossed a perfect seventh and eighth, respectively, and Nick Proctor ended a Barons’ threat in the ninth.
The Foresters scored three runs in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Santos and a two-run single by Griffin Everitt, who was 3-for-4 on the night.
Santa Barbara added a fourth in the third, when Will Pendergrass scored after the Barons’ catcher threw wildly in his attempt to stop Pendergrass from stealing third base.
The Foresters are back at Pershing Park on Friday against the Barons at 6 p.m.