The Rawlings California Cup Tournament had Santa Barbara Foresters manager Bill Pintard stressed out all day Friday.
“I’ve had no time today dealing with all this. In fact, I missed my daughter Kelby’s art show which I’m not happy about. It’s been a long day,” he said.
His attitude was a little different three hours later after an 11-1 trouncing of the Urban Academy Barons. The game was called in the middle of the eighth due to darkness.
“What a great day. Fifteen hits and 11 runs made it a great day,” he said.
The pitching was as good as the offense, if not better. Starter Matt Leonard used his change-up to fan seven batters while giving up just four hits and a walk. The only Barons run came after a controversial balk call.
“Leonard was outstanding today. He has what we call a ‘plus change-up,’ meaning it would work in the Major Leagues,” said Pintard, a scout for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
The Foresters (22-7) rattled off four consecutive two-out singles in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead, then scored three more in the fourth when Jeremy Rathjen singled home Patric Tolentino from second and came in on a monster two-run homer by leadoff batter Andy Workman. Rathjen would hit a solo shot to left field to kick off the sixth inning.
Barons (8-15) reliever Braulio Archer stepped in to pitch the seventh and ended up wishing he didn’t, allowing four runs on two doubles and two singles before recording an out. John Lambert came on to pitch the seventh for Santa Barbara and struck out the side, using a fastball that reached 93 mph.
Leonard, a hurler for North Carolina State, has an odd habit of keeping his back pocket stuffed with various things whenever he pitches. On Friday, his stash included two dollars, five pieces of bubble gum and some loose change — much more generic than the fruit snacks and crumpled plastic cup he carried on Tuesday in Palm Springs.
Workman was 2-for-3 on the day with three RBIs and standout first baseman James Wharton was 4-for-5 in his first game back from a hand injury. Rathjen was 2-for-3 and James Meador was 2-for-4.
The Foresters play another California Collegiate League opponent, the Santa Maria Packers, on Friday at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium with first pitch set for 5 p.m. All games are broadcast on AM 1490 and www.sbforesters.org.
