The fireworks were over but the Santa Barbara Foresters lit up the San Jose Seals nonetheless on Sunday, picking up an 8-2 win at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
Reliever Sam Spangler made a spot start and pitched four innings of shutout ball before Matt Evers added another two, and the Santa Barbara offense got production in encouraging ways. Mark Castellito, for instance, went 3-for-4 with two RBIs on the day — a welcomed sign for the Gonzaga outfielder who was hitting .187 coming into the game.
“We’ve been playing ball since February now, and every once in awhile you’re bound to get in a funk, especially if you’re constantly trying to make mechanical adjustments… It was just nice to get some hits today and also just feel a little better at the plate,” he said.
It’s not a power crisis if the team is winning, but it is noteworthy that the Foresters had just four homers heading into the game. Some blame the transition to wood bats, while others say it’s the new balls being used in the California Collegiate League this year. Regardless, Vinnie St. John hit the fifth of the year and hit it hard — detonating a ball to left field to lead off the fifth.
Ryan Hege finished with a pair of doubles, although his first one was a sky-high pop-up to right field that was lost in the sun and dropped haplessly.
“Hey, it’s all the same in the stat book,” said Hege.
The Foresters (19-7, 9-3) infield continued to shine, turning three double plays in the first four innings to keep Spangler spotless. Kevin Dickey and Matt Hutchison finished out the game on the mound for the hosts.
Manager Bill Pintard is always looking for the little things that win games, and Casey McMurray’s hard-90 to beat out a throw and get on base with two outs in the third was one of them. He then came around to score on Hege’s second double of the day.
“It’s a key to winning when you can do that kind of stuff. We all talk about two-out hits winning championships, and two-out hustles like that also win championships,” said Pintard.
The team has Monday off before a Tuesday road trip to Palm Springs, with game time set for 7 p.m. in the desert. All games are broadcast on AM 1490 KIST and sbforesters.org.
