Foresters will play for another World Series title after semifinal shutout win
WICHITA, Kansas. (KEYT) – It’s been a few years but the Santa Barbara Foresters are no strangers to the championship game at the National Baseball Congress World Series.
The Foresters shutout another opponent, this time the Junction City Brigade 7-0 in a semifinal game to advance to Saturday night’s title game against the Alaska Goldpanners at 5 p.m. Pacific time.
The Foresters and Goldpanners are both 5-0 heading into the showdown.
Santa Barbara has a record 10 NBC World Series championships but none since 2022.
Foresters pitchers Tanner Grove (Cal) and Jack Fowler (Pepperdine) combined to throw the fourth Santa Barbara shutout in five games at this tournament.
Grove worked five innings of 2-hit scoreless ball, striking out 7.
Fowler pitched the final four shutout innings allowing just one hit with 6 strikeouts.
It was a pitcher’s duel until the final inning when the Foresters erupted for five runs to seal the deal.
Before that the Foresters had just two hits both by incoming UCSB infielder Chris Newstrom.
His fourth inning double advanced Carter Rutenbar to third and the Arkansas catcher Rutenbar scored on a fielder’s choice by Nick Salmon.
In the 8th inning Newstrom singled in Rutenbar to make it 2-0.
Santa Barbara finally got some breathing room in the top of the 9th with five runs.
Easton Moomau (Texas Rio Grande Valley) delivered an RBI single, Brady Janusek (Baylor) bunted in a run on a safety squeeze, pinch-hitter Kurt Ippolito (Baylor) laced a 2-run double down the left field line and Rutenbar capped the scoring with a run-scoring single to right.
The Foresters have outscored their five opponents in this tournament 42-2 heading into the championship game.
Alaska broke open a tight game with 6 late runs to beat the Lonestar Baseball Club 9-1 in the other semifinal.
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