‘Ster It Up! Foresters Take the Field

The UCSB Gauchos flamed out in the regionals of the NCAA baseball tournament late last month, although once again, ace pitcher Jackson Flora was fantastic in his only outing. The decision was made to save him for Game 2 against likely opponent Texas, the No. 6 ranked team in the country, but the plan went awry when UCSB lost to Tarleton State (yes, the same team I wrote “Who?” about two weeks ago). It would have been a blast to see Flora face Texas’ high-powered offense, but it wasn’t to be. 

But baseball is far from over in town. Not with the Santa Barbara Foresters having already launched their summer ball season last weekend. In fact, two of the Gauchos pitchers are part of the squad, along with players mostly drawn from the ranks of colleges around the country. Given that the California Collegiate League, which the Foresters have ruled for decades, is considered among the Top 5 summer programs in the country, you’re even more likely to see future major leagues over the summer than anywhere else in town anytime. 

“We get more guys drafted than anybody,” said Bill Pintard, the Foresters’ longtime coach. “We have 25 (former Foresters) playing Major League Baseball right now.”

Among those are such big names as Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox hurler who finished as runner-up for the Cy Young Award, former All-Star third baseman Josh Jung, former batting champ Jeff McNeil and one-time coveted slugger Ryan O’Hearn. With names like those, no wonder the ‘Sters won the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita 10 times between 2006-2022 and are aiming to end their current title drought with a strong team this year. 

How do the ‘Sters secure such a star roster? 

“I’ve been coaching for a long time, and I have good rapport with college coaches, including a number of my former players who are now college coaches,” Pintard said. “They know that we’re going to help their guys get better out here in the summer, because we teach and we coach them and we get after it.” 

Indeed, Pintard said, a major league scouting director showed up to a game and told the coach that he’d never seen a summer baseball team play so hard. 

Even though some of their top college players have yet to arrive because they’re still playing in the College World Series in Omaha, potentially as late as June 22, the team crushed its first two opponents last weekend by a combined score of 27-1. The schedule is home diamond heavy in the first month, with local games Thursday-Sunday, June 11-14, plus nine more in the following two weeks. All games take place at Santa Barbara High’s Eddie Mathews Field. 

But while the ‘Sters take things very seriously, the games themselves are low-key fun for spectators. Tickets are set at $7 for the bleachers, $12 for reserved, although all are within four rows of the field, with discounts for season tickets. The snack shop is less expensive than the 7-11, and a food truck donates 20 percent of purchases back to the team. Maybe most fun of all? If you snag a foul ball, you can return it for a free drink from Blenders in the Grass. 

Visit https://santabarbaraforesters.org