2-X champ Foresters take down Stars

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: July 31, 2022

2022 SAN DIEGO STARS SUMMER COLLEGIATE BASEBALL

By Nick Pellegrino
ECS staff writer

HUTCHISON,Kan. —- The Santa Barbara Foresters, a member of the California Collegiate summer baseball league, is basically a Future Stars program comprised of some of the best underclassmen in NCAA Division I baseball. The roster featured ballplayers from more than 20 major college schools.

It’s little wonder that the Foresters are the two-time defending National Baseball Congress World Series champions. And they displayed their power in Sunday’s pool play game against the San Diego Stars.

Jumping to a 4-0, first-inning lead, Santa Barbara repelled a Stars comeback to tally the game’s final nine runs to claim a 13-3 victory in 8 innings. With the verdict, the Foresters clinched a berth in the national quarterfinals.

Luke Arias

Meanwhile, the Stars (1-1 in Pool B) must defeat the hometown Haysville (Kan.) Aviators to also gain a berth to the Final Eight, a level the Stars have reached in two of the past three seasons. The contests is slated for Tuesday, but the game time will not be determined until Monday due to weather issues.

Following the early Santa Barbara lead, the Stars gained a pair of unearned runs in the second, then a Luke Arias RBI doube in the third.

However, Foresters pitcher Parker Smith, a sophomore-to-be out of Rice University, then retired nine straight batters to end his 6-inning stint on the mound. He struck out seven.

Parker Smith

Santa Barbara cleanup hitter Gavin Kash , the first baseman out of the University of Texas, batted 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBI.

The Foresters also received solo home runs from Nate Rombach (Dallas Baptist), Hudson White (Texas Tech) and Dylan Campbell (Texas).

The hero for the Stars may have been relief pitcher Luke Gentry, who tossed 6.2 innings in the Kansas heat (92 degrees) to save the rest of the bullpen for future tournament games. Gentry was listed with 103 pitches.