The pitchers continued to get the job done, and the bats and defense bounced back as the Santa Barbara Foresters picked up a 7-1 win over the visiting California Wahoo at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium on Saturday. The game was called in the middle of the eighth due to darkness.
Santa Barbara pitcher Tim Crabbe, still undecided on his future after being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds earlier this week, danced out of danger a few times and struck out nine in five shutout innings.
“It all starts and stops on the mound, and Crabbe’s tempo was very good today,” said manager Bill Pintard. “The defense knew he was going to send a lot of ground balls their way and they handled it.”
After two error-laden games, Santa Barbara (6-2) shored things up and had just one in the contest.
The Forester offense, which has been sluggish lately, broke through in a 4-run seventh. Ryan Goetz and Mark Castellito got aboard and Patric Tolentino tripled both of them in. RBI singles by Michael Liberto and Davis Duren ensued before the inning came to a close.
Bishop Diego’s Paul Gherini was the designated hitter for the Wahoo, and he went 1-for-4 on the day.
One of the Foresters’ new arrivals in Jeremy Rathjen, a lanky freshman from Rice University, had a nice debut at the plate. Despite it being his first game all year with a wooden bat, he blasted a double to the wall to lead off the sixth and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Liberto.
“It’s a little different, but I don’t mind hitting with a wooden bat,” said Rathjen, who added that it’s been fun getting to know his new teammates since arriving two days ago.
Ryan Hege played a solid game at first base for Santa Barbara, including a diving catch of a bloop foul ball to end the third inning. He also reached base in all four of his at-bats, finishing 2-for-2 with a run scored.
The Foresters got somewhat experimental in replacing Crabbe, as utilityman Vincenzo St. John took over on the mound to pitch for the first time since high school. The soon-to-be junior at USC threw 91-mph fastballs and struck out the first two batters he faced before getting into trouble and balking in a run on a controversial call. Wahoo batter Kyle Leon, a former Forester, called timeout as St. John was in his wind-up and the umpire thought it was requested too late.
“I looked up and I saw the batter stepping back so I stopped my wind-up and it was a balk I guess,” said St. John, who was all smiles after the game as he got pats on the back from his teammates.
Pintard said that first baseman James Wharton will throw at some point during Sunday’s 1 p.m. rematch. Starting for the Foresters will be AJ Griffin, a closer who holds the University of San Diego record for saves. He will try to transition into a starter this summer.
Sunday’s game is Firefighter’s Day at the ballpark. All games are broadcast on AM 1490 as well as www.sbforesters.org.
