Foresters starting pitcher Gary Cornish threw six shutout innings. (Presidio Sports Photo)
By ALEC NOLAN
The Foresters scored a first-inning run in Friday’s game against the Orange County Riptide, and that was all they needed in a 1-0 shutout victory thanks to the dominance of their pitching staff.
University of San Diego senior Gary Cornish allowed just three hits, one walk, and struck out six batters over six shutout innings for the Foresters.
“He gave us six shutdown innings last outing and he did it again today,” Foresters coach Bill Pintard said. “The guys love playing behind him on defense; he gets it done and he really looks like he’s enjoying himself out there right now.”
The Riptide gave up six hits to Santa Barbara. Granger Studdard’s fielder’s choice to second base to score Tyler Neslony in the bottom of the first inning was all the Foresters needed on this night.
“The guy can flat out hit. He did it for us last year and he continues to do it for us this season. Even when he’s not hitting line drives, the guy knows what he needs to do when he’s up in the box. That’s why he was able to drive in that run today.” Pintard said.
To complement Cornish’s performance, Tyler Cohen allowed just one hit and struck out two in two innings of work.
To close things out, Santa Barbara sent 6-3, 245-pound Dalton Brown to the mound. The Texas Tech right-hander ran into some trouble early, allowing two hits. But he was able strand runners on first and second to end the game. Brown walked away with two strikeouts in the 9th to earn the save.
The Foresters (4-0) will look to remain undefeated in a rematch with the Riptide at 5 p.m. at UCSB’s Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
Coach Pintard hopes to see more offense from his club on Saturday.
“I would like to see us hit the ball a little better tomorrow,” he said. “I think a lot of guys are pressing right now with it being the beginning of the season. I’m not interested in hard-hit ground balls, I’m interested in line drives.”
