Salmon Homers Twice, ‘Sters Route Blues

In a ballpark that normally makes hitters look weak or incapable, the Santa Barbara Foresters made the park look small, pouncing on the San Luis Obispo Blues' pitching staff for 10 runs and three long balls. The Foresters' pitching staff was in rhythm, too, holding the Blues to just five hits and two runs, taking down their first-place counterparts for the second time this summer.

Hustle and mind games gave the Foresters a big first inning. Chris Newstrom started the two-out rally with a double before Kurt Ippolito busted down the first base line to force an error out of the third baseman to keep the inning alive. Wylan Nelson perfectly dropped a ball into left to score Newstrom, which brought up pitcher Noah Waldeck. Except Waldeck wasn't the one in the box, regular DH Nick Salmon was, as Bill Pintard had an early pinch-hitter trick up his sleeve. Salmon proceeded to blast a three-run homer into right, extending the lead to four and giving him his second straight day with a bomb.

The game moved gingerly throughout the remainder of 'Sters starter Nick Wesloski's appearance. Fresh off of starting the clinching game in the College World Series for Oklahoma, Wesloski cruised in his first appearance for Santa Barbara. He only saw three Blues reach base, and induced a timely 4-6-3 double play in the second to work around two base hits.

Grady Westphal took over in the fifth and continued what Wesloski started, facing the minimum. He got help from Zane Becker, who caught the lead runner stealing, something he seemingly does every time the Foresters visit Sinsheimer. 

The Blues finally got on the board in the sixth when they loaded the bases and pushed home their first run via a walk. Westphal did well to limit the damage, striking out two and inducing an important inning-ending ground ball. 

Kaleb Rogers came in in the seventh, and sat San Luis Obispo down in order, but the bigger storyline came when Nick Salmon came up to lead off the eighth. For the second time this evening, he pummeled a ball deep beyond the right field fence, one that went 410 feet and restored the 'Sters' four-run lead.

Santa Barbara wasn't done, adding five more, blowing this one wide open. Addison Klepsch walked to force Becker home, and Easton Moomau jogged home on a wild pitch before the Blues made a pitching change. During the break, Pintard personally requested a home run from Newstrom, and he delivered, blasting off into the San Luis Obispo night and extending the lead to nine.

Rogers finished out through the ninth, picking up his second save on the season, while adding six strikeouts, with the rare four-strikeout inning being achieved in the ninth.

Santa Barbara is back home tomorrow to take on the Orange County Riptide, 2 pm at Eddie Mathews Field. Catch all the action on the Foresters YouTube channel.