WICHITA — Jesse Meaux needed five pitches to get through the first inning, 10 in the second and 14 in the third. He was cruising, and the Foresters starter ended up with his second win of the National Baseball Congress World Series as Santa Barbara defeated the Haysville (KS) Heat 8-3 early Thursday morning in Wichita.
The victory advances the two-time tournament champions to Thursday’s 8:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. Pacific Time) semifinal matchup against the Seattle Studs.
“He was throwing strikes, and his slider was really, really good. His fastball had late life, and he was just pouring it in there,” said manager Bill Pintard of Meaux, who gave up just three hits and a run with three strikeouts and one walk through six innings of work.
Walker Moore walked to open the fourth inning and James Wharton followed with a single that moved Moore to third. A groundout by catcher Chris Hannick drove in Moore. Shane Kroker followed with one of his two doubles and Wharton scored from third on a ground ball by Jeff McNeil.
McNeil, 18, found out he would start at second base just about a half hour before the game, as Michael Ratterree was a late scratch due to injury. The recent Nipomo High School graduate and soon-to-be Long Beach State infielder had a single, an RBI, a run scored and a sac bunt.
Second baseman Jeff McNeil turns a double play (SB Foresters courtesy photo).
“He was beautiful… He’s a young kid, but he handled it well and stepped in there to do an outstanding job. He’s growing up right before our eyes,” said Pintard.
It wasn’t a flawless performance, however, as he collided with right fielder Nick Melino going for a ball in right field with one out in the eighth. The miscommunication led to a Heat run. McNeil also had a chance to end the game in the bottom of the ninth, doing an excellent job of stopping a hard-hit ground ball before making a looping, errant throw to Kroker at second base, just about 15 feet away.
It was all part of the maturing process according to Kroker, who officially transferred to Chico State on Wednesday.
“I came up to him before the game and told him to just stay focused and don’t get nervous. I think he was a little rattled after that collision with Melino, but I told him to calm down. He’s gonna be fine, and he did a good job,” said Kroker.
Santa Barbara (45-10) broke things open in the seventh, scoring four runs that were all driven in with two outs. Jeremy Rathjen drove in Kroker and Melino on a double down the line in left field. Melino didn’t beat the throw to the plate, but executed a terrific slide to avoid the tag. Cleanup hitter Jeff McVaney then belted a two-run blast to left field.
McVaney, a fullback for the Texas State football team, has been one of the team’s best hitters all year, but it was just his first longball.
“We had been kidding him about it over the past few days, but he picked a great time to hit one because it really put the nail in the coffin,” said Pintard.
Melino and Kubitza picked up successive RBI singles in the eighth before the Forester bullpen gave up two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Kevin Chambers came on to pitch the final inning and two-thirds, allowing no hits and striking out a pair.
Pintard said that his team has “been getting better every game” since Sunday’s loss to the Liberal (KS) Bee Jays. Kroker said that it hasn’t been difficult to energize every day and get ready for a win-or-go-home showdown.
“When we wake up every day, we’re pumped for the game. It’s all we’re thinking about. We want to do it for all of our fans, family and friends. We have our minds on one goal, and that’s to win a championship,” he said.
The quest continues on Thursday, with the game being broadcast on AM 1490 and sbforesters.org.
Note: Before Wednesday’s game, Foresters reliever Hoby Milner was named the tournament’s top pro pitching prospect, receiving a trophy for his efforts. The University of Texas lefty is 1-0 in two appearances out of the bullpen, giving up no runs through five and two-thirds innings.
