PALM SPRINGS — It was a long game and a long day for the Santa Barbara Foresters, but the team bus rolled back into town victorious early Wednesday morning after picking up a 6-5 win in 11 innings against the Palm Springs Power.
A 4-0 lead in the first inning dissolved in the bottom of the second and the two teams duked it out from there until Casey McMurray hit a sacrifice pop-up to left that was dropped and got Tim Maitland home from third as the final run of the game.
Palm Springs appeared to have the game won on a base hit in the bottom of the 10th, but Santa Barbara’s David Harris rifled in a throw from left field which found catcher Patric Tolentino, who made the tag at home.
Matt Evers got the win on the mound and Matt Hutchison the save, as the Forester bullpen was immaculate on the night. John Lambert, Evers, Kevin Dickey and Hutchison combined to give up just four hits and no runs over the final seven innings. Dickey was particularly good, putting the Power out 1-2-3 in the seventh and eighth innings.
“This was fun. Watching our guys come out of the bullpen and compete for us the way they did was big. It was an outstanding effort by all of them,” said manager Bill Pintard.
It was certainly an environment in which effort could have lacked. The temperature was a blazing 109 degrees as the team stepped off the long bus ride to Palm Spring Stadium, a former Spring Training home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
“It was character-building to get a lead, then give it up at their home park with their obnoxious music and all that. To do that after a three and a half hour bus ride was a test, and we took it on and won,” said Pintard.
James Meador and Brandon Loy each chipped in a pair of hits for Santa Barbara, which begins its Rawlings Cup Tournament at 5 p.m. on Wednesday against Las Vegas at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
All Games are broadcast on AM 1490 KIST and sbforesters.org.
