The Santa Barbara Foresters put it all together to earn a 5-2 victory over their rival San Luis Obispo Blues on Wednesday at Eddie Mathews Field.
Xavier Esquer’s three-run homer in the fifth was the biggest swing of the day for the Foresters (18-7), who also struck out a combined 12 batters on the mound in the win.
Following a scoreless first that featured Santa Barbara starter Nic Abraham striking out the side on 10 pitches, the Blues jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on an RBI triple.
That score held until the bottom of the fourth when Brenton Clark roped an RBI single to drive in Easton Moomau and tie the game up at 1-1.
San Luis Obispo answered right back in the top of the fifth with a run of its own to regain a 2-1 advantage.
In the bottom half, the Foresters got singles from Zane Becker, Caleb Hoover and Coleman Ryan to quickly bring the game back even to 2-2.
The trio of singles also set the stage for Esquer, who blasted a three-run home run to left field to give Santa Barbara a 5-2 lead.
The Forester bullpen took over from there as JD Goodcase, Jaden Barfield and Steele Eves combined for four shutout innings while allowing three hits and striking out five on the way to the win.
Abraham, who received the win thanks to the four-run fifth frame, allowed two runs on six hits while striking out seven in his five innings of work.
Ryan was a force at the bottom of the lineup, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
The Foresters and Blues will face off once again on Wednesday, this time at Sinsheimer Park in San Luis Obispo at 6 p.m.