HENDERSON, NV — The Santa Barbara Foresters are crating their own excitement in one of the world’s most exciting cities.
The seven-time defending California Collegiate League champions didn’t make it easy on themselves, allowing three runs in a nail-biting bottom of the ninth before UCSB’s Matt Vedo came in to record the final out for a 7-6 victory over Team Vegas on Saturday in the heat and howling wind.
It was aggressive base-running and rock-solid defense that made the difference for Santa Barbara, which scored its final five runs in the final three innings of the game. Four of those five were driven in on two-RBI singles by University of Missouri outfielder Blake Brown.
“I just got the pitches I was looking for in those situations and was fortunate enough to get some important hits,” said Brown.
Team Vegas (5-3, 5-3 CCL) outhit Santa Barbara 11-8 and got seven-plus solid innings from University of Texas-bound righty Ricky Jaquez. The Foresters left the bases loaded with the game tied at 2-2 in the sixth, but loaded them once again in the seventh. Nick Melino hit a sacrifice fly that scored the go-ahead run and Brown followed with a big hit two batters later to blow the game open.
Santa Barbara (6-0, 4-0 CCL) added two more thanks to Brown in the top of the ninth, but Team Vegas wouldn’t go away. The hosts had the tying run at the plate with no outs and a runner on second in the bottom of the ninth, but Brandon Pierce broke out of a funk to get two ground-outs and Vedo came in with a 92-mph cutting fastball to get the final out.
“I thought our situational hitting and baserunning were just unbelievable today,” said manager Bill Pintard. “This team’s coming together, and the chemistry is really, really good.”
Pierce, the team jokester, wasn’t smiling as he labored through the bottom of the ninth, but Pintard said that experiencing adversity early in the season can do some good.
“I told him that it happens, and not to worry about it when that happens because he didn’t lose the game and he has a team that came through behind him,” said Pintard. “We went through some adversity today. Our pitching came back down to earth a little bit but we responded.”
The Foresters wrap up the 3-game series at 7 p.m. on Sunday. All games are broadcast on AM 990 and www.sbforesters.org.
FORESTERS 7, TEAM VEGAS 6
Santa Barbara…020 000 302 — 7 8 1
Team Vegas…000 200 013 — 6 11 1
SB — Minnis, Morehouse (5), Friedrichs (8), Pierce (9), Vedo (9) and Stock and NJohnson. TV — Jaquez, Smith (7) and Tomasetti. WP — Morehouse (1-0), LP — Jaquez.
2B — SB: Brown, Wallace, Stock.TV — Bird.
Team records — SB 6-0, 4-0. TV 5-2, 5-2.
