LAS VEGAS — It was 97 degrees when the first pitch was thrown, but the Foresters’ bats were much hotter than that.
Santa Barbara crushed CCL-opponent Team Vegas on Tuesday night at Morse Stadium, winning 16-2 with 10 extra-base hits including three home runs and three triples.
Kevin Chambers struck out 10 batters in five innings for the Foresters (Eric Isaacs photos).
Catcher Patric Tolentino got things going early with a three-run double in the first inning, and also had a two-run homer in the eighth. He added a single in the fourth, one of four Foresters with multi-hit efforts.
Jared Womack was a homer shy of the cycle by the fourth inning, and Jeremy Rathjen and James Wharton hit back-to-back jacks to start off the fourth. Womack, who has six extra-base hits in the last four games, followed with a stand-up triple.
Wharton has been hitting homers at a torrid pace, with five on the season and four in the past six games. He hit a double to dead center in the fifth that traveled about 415 feet before hitting the elevated screen.
The Foresters (7-3, 5-2) have now won five straight games, and Womack said that the chemistry on the team has been excellent over the past week.
“I think the coaching staff has gotten us to go out there and be prepared to go hard every game. It’s been a lot of fun. I feel like I’m seeing the ball really well,” he said.
On the mound, big Oklahoma State lefty Kevin Chambers gave up four singles and two runs in the first but was stellar from then on, striking out 10 in five innings of work. Vinnie St. John came on in relief and struck out five in two-plus innings of work, surrendering one hit before Ryan Hawthorne closed the door in the ninth.
Nick Melino, playing in his hometown, had a double, two singles, two RBIs and a run scored.
A six-and-a-half-hour drive in a cramped bus didn’t seem to affect the seven-time defending conference champs whatsoever.
Team Vegas (2-2) is no push-over, fielding a host of Division I players and taking two of three from the San Luis Obispo Rattlers earlier in the week.
“Strategy-wise, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We’re going to play our game,” said manager Bill PIntard. We’re gonna hit and run and be aggressive.”
Texas State’s Kyle Kubitza has been the epitome of aggressive since joining the team last week, and he legged out two hustle-doubles that no one saw coming in the game.
Tim Kelley will get the start in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader at 4 p.m. All games are broadcast on AM1490 and www.sbforesters.org.
