SANTA BARBARA, CA – West Coast wind and sunshine were fully displayed in this Friday night matchup in Santa Barbara. With the Saints entering this game on a 7-game win streak and the Foresters entering on a 6-game win streak, the stakes were high in this matchup.

On the mound for the Saints was right-hander Carter Herrera (Cal State Fullerton), one of the team’s more consistent starters this season. Herrera would get through the first two innings of this matchup without giving up a run, but the defense fell apart in the third.

The Foresters grabbed four runs despite Herrera only allowing two hits in the inning. Uncharacteristic infield play by the Saints led to three errors that allowed baserunners to advance. The Saints faced an early deficit in this game.

As the Saints proved throughout their win streak, they are unafraid of a deficit. In the top of the fourth, they began to chip away. Raider Tello (Iowa) reached base safely to start the inning, and Alex Birge (Wichita State) doubled shortly after. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, the Saints looked to be in striking distance. Unfortunately, only one run would come out of this inning of the bat of James Nelson (Longwood).

The Foresters would add another run in the bottom half of the fourth, extending their lead back to four.

Despite trailing by four runs halfway through this matchup, the Saints were holding onto life in this matchup. Raider Tello (Iowa), the most consistent face on the base path for the Saints recently, got the sixth inning off to a great start. After a lead-off double and stealing third base, Tello found himself on third with no outs.

The sixth inning was the turning point in this matchup. With Tello on third and nobody out, the Saints failed to add a run on the board. The Foresters, however, scored three more in the bottom half of this inning, extending their lead to 8-1.

With this game appearing out of reach, it would have been very easy for this team to give up on this matchup, but Jacob Henderson (Iowa) did not let that happen. Pitching the seventh and eighth inning for the Saints, Henderson struck out five out of six batters he faced.

In Henderson’s five innings pitched for the Saints this summer, the right-handed reliever has yet to allow a hit. He’s also struck out seven of his sixteen batters faced.

Henderson’s dominance on the mound translated to a pair of runs late for the Saints. Richie Morales (Arizona) would come around to score on a passed ball in the seventh, and James Nelson (Longwood) would bring home Alex Birge (Wichita State) again in the eighth with a single.

With a final score of 8-3, the Saints’ win streak ends at seven games. Arroyo Seco has two more matchups this weekend against the Foresters. With head coach Aaron Milam constantly stressing to “win the week,” the Saints’ 2-1 record this week puts them in a good position to do that.

The Saints are back in Pasadena Saturday at 6:05 p.m. PST against the Foresters. Tune into the matchup live on our Youtube Channel!

Contributors:

• Saints Reporter Bennett Snyder (Ohio University)
• Saints Photographer Sonny Tapia (Cal State Long Beach)