COMPTON — Bill Pintard picked up his 700th win as manager of the Santa Barbara Foresters on Thursday, a 12-3 rout of the Academy Barons that had big implications in the hunt for the team’s ninth consecutive California Collegiate League title.
“I want to thank all the fans for supporting us, and I really want to thank my family for allowing me to go out and coach all these games to get 700. It was awesome,” said Pintard, who was dunked by players in the post-game huddle.
The San Luis Obispo Blues dispatched the OC Pioneers in their final game of the season on Thursday, leaving the Foresters with a half-game lead in the standings. They’ll need to win two of their final three games — all at home against Team Vegas — in order to clinch the crown outright.
Austin Kubitza had 10 strikeouts in five innings of work to improve to 2-1 on the season, and the Foresters racked up four doubles and two triples while taking advantage of four Barons errors. Kubitza, a Freshman All-American from Rice, struck out the side in order in the second.
“Honestly, I left a lot of sliders up and they just swung through ’em,” said Kubitza. “It felt good, and things were working towards the end… It’s a good thing going into Wichita, because I’ll need to feel that good if not better.”
Ian McCarthy pitched three hitless innings in relief of Kubitza and Jeff McVaney, who scored four runs and had two base hits, pitched the ninth.
James Wharton hit an RBI triple in the first inning and Jeff McNeil added a 3-bagger of his own as part of a 5-run fifth. The ball was bobbled in right field on McNeil’s hit, and he came all the way around to score on the play.
Santa Barbara (35-11, 23-10) hosts Team Vegas at 5 p.m. Friday. After Sunday’s regular-season finale, the Foresters will head to Wichita by bus for the National Baseball Congress World Series. Urban Academy is now 9-26.
