Foresters pitcher Cody Crouse was the winning pitcher on Tuesday. (Presidio Sports Photo)
The Foresters rallied to defeat their conference rival Conejo Oaks 4-2 at UCSB’s Caesar Uyesaka Stadium on Tuesday.
Santa Barbara fell behind early but came from behind with four runs in the final four innings, extending a season-best win streak to seven games.
Coming off a weekend series sweep of the South Coast Saints, Santa Barbara sent right-hander Garrett King to the mound.
Cal State Northridge righty Angel Rodriguez started for Conejo, finishing with 7 strikeouts, and just one walk over 6 solid innings of work.
The Oaks got on the board early with two runs off four hits in the top of the 2nd. First baseman Corey Pool got things going with a leadoff double to the left-center gap off King. Conejo pulled ahead 2-0 with back-to-back RBI hits from left fielder Austin Rodriguez, who brought home Pool off an RBI double, and third baseman Kyle Sanchez.
Sanchez proved to be the Conejo’s offensive catalyst on the night, finishing (3-4) at the plate with an RBI and a double.
The Foresters looked to pull within a run in the bottom of the 3rd with David Greer singling to left and stealing second to move within scoring position for 1B Lex Kaplan.
Angel Rodriguez got some major help from his defense, with Austin Rodriguez making a strong throw from left field that beat out Greer at the plate, erasing Kaplan’s potential RBI single and keeping the game 2-0.
Greer once again kick-started the offense in the bottom of the 5th with a triple that scored John Holland to pull the Foresters within reach. Granger Studdard then tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single to center to bring home Greer.
Santa Barbara finally pulled ahead of the Oaks, with John Holland coming across to score with a sacrifice fly to center from Studdard make things 3-2.
Studdard finished the game going (1-2) with a pair of RBIs to bring his total to 16 on the year, tied for best on the team with catcher Jeremy Montalbano.
The Foresters finished their comeback victory in the bottom of the 8th with an RBI double from LF Tyler Neslony to bring home Kaplan, making it 4-2.
The 6’6 big right hander Cody Crouse gets the win for Santa Barbara, allowing no runs with 5 strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings after relieving King in the 5th. Conejo’s Dante Bosnic gets the loss, going just a third of an inning while allowing 2 earned runs.
RHP Troy Cruz closed things out for the ‘Sters in the top of the 9th, striking out two to get the save on the night.
“It makes it easier to relax when you’re down some runs with the best summer pitching staff in the country,” Montalbano said. “Our pitchers give us a chance to win every time they go out there for us.”
The Foresters move to (15-2) on the year and hope to improve their winning streak to 8 games as they head south to Thousand Oaks in a rematch against Conejo Wednesday at 5pm.
