The Santa Barbara Forsters suffered a heartbreaking 6-4 loss to the Lonestar Kraken in the NBC World Series quarterfinals on Thursday in Wichita.
The Kraken plated two runs in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 tie and pull out the win, ending the Forester season without an NBC title for the third straight year.
Both teams got out to a slow start as Santa Barbara starter Nic Abraham and Lonestar starter Kendall Hoffman cruised through four scoreless frames.
The Kraken finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fifth with three runs courtesy of two Forester errors and an RBI single.
Santa Barbara responded in the bottom half when Brenton Clark doubled and eventually came in to score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Mic Paul to make it 3-1.
After a scoreless sixth inning, the Kraken extended its lead to 4-1 in the top of the seventh on an RBI single following three walks by the Foresters.
Santa Barbara came roaring back in the bottom of the eighth, sparked by back-to-back two-out doubles from Cole Chamberlain and Easton Moomau to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Following a Terrence Kiel walk, Clark came through with the biggest hit of the night by blasting a two-run homer over the right-field fence to tie the game up at 4-4.
However, the Kraken came right back in the top of the ninth and took advantage of a hit batter and a Forester error to score a pair of runs and retake the lead at 6-4.
Santa Barbara got a man on in the ninth but couldn’t mount a rally, resulting in the season-ending loss.
The Foresters round out their 2025 season with an overall record of 27-11, including a 23-9 mark in the California Collegiate League.