Jeremy Rathjen stole home in the bottom of the first, James Wharton hit a home run that still hasn’t come down and the Santa Barbara Foresters rolled to a 7-2 home victory over the visiting Academy Barons on Sunday in front of an estimated crowd of 400 at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
It was the Foresters’ 12th consecutive victory and gave them the season series over the Barons, 4-2.
“Twelve in a row is awesome. We hope to continue to roll them out,” said manager Bill Pintard. “I think the guys are having fun, and we have some guys banged up but we’re taking care of that. I think we have something special.”
The Foresters, ranked No. 2 in the nation by Perfect Game USA, got four efficient innings from Chris Joyce, as the local boy gave up two runs on three hits with three strikeouts and no walks. With the team resting its starters in preparation for the National Baseball Congress World Seires in Wichita, Joyce was pulled after the fourth and gave way to Tim Kelley. The Wichita State righty pitched three scoreless before Kiefer Nuncio and Ryan Hawthorne pitched the eighth and ninth innings respectively.
Hawthorne, who plays outfield for Loyola Marymount but has mostly pitched this summer, struck out the side in the ninth.
Jeremy Rathjen slides into second base (photos by Eric Isaacs/EMI Photography).
Wharton’s eighth homer of the season was a monster blast to left field in the third, and he almost had another to dead center that was robbed on a great catch by Barons outfielder Brett Vertigan, who will play for UCSB next year.
Rathjen leads the Foresters with 17 stolen bases, and the 17th was a swipe of home. With runners at the corners in the first, he sprinted home on a pickoff throw down to first base and made it safely.
“It’s a lot of fun stealing bases. I’m just trying to trust myself on the bases and get a good jump and it’s been working for me,” he said. “We’ve been playing well, so we’re confident even if we fall behind.”
Santa Barbara (29-7, 19-5) plays at Sinsheimer Stadium against the San Luis Obispo Rattlers on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. All games are broadcast on AM 1490 and www.sbforesters.org.
