Oaks' Winning Streak Ends, Fall to Foresters 13–5

Oaks' Winning Streak Ends, Fall to Foresters 13–5

By Micah Rodriguez

Coming off wins against the Orange County Riptide, Santa Maria Indians, and Philippines Baseball Group to wrap up June, the Oaks opened July with a 13–5 loss against the Santa Barbara Foresters. The Oaks' record now sits at 11–8 at the halfway mark of the summer. 

Jaden Kowkolski made his fourth start of the summer, and his second against the Santa Barbara Foresters. In his first start against the Foresters on June 20, the right-hander battled through three innings, giving up five runs, with only two of them being earned.

Unfortunately for the Oaks, Kowkolski ran into trouble against the Santa Barbara again in the third. After working a scoreless first two innings, the Santa Barbara club tagged him for six runs on five hits in the third inning to take a 6–0 lead. 

The Oaks threatened in the second and third innings, putting runners on second and third with two outs in each inning. In the second, second baseman Grant Rodriguez popped out to first base, and in the third, third baseman Matthew Witkow popped up to the shortstop as the Foresters quelled the Oaks offense through three. 

Landon Martin came on in relief of Kowkolski in the fourth inning. Making his seventh appearance of the season, Martin set a new summer-high, giving the Oaks four quality innings out of the bullpen. One of the Oaks' most consistent high-leverage arms, Martin worked around five hits and allowed only two earned runs while mowing down a season-high six Foresters.

The Oaks put runners on second and third with two outs again in the fifth, but Santa Barbara escaped, inducing a ground out from first baseman Dylan Jackson to maintain their 7–0 lead. 

After Santa Barbara added another insurance run in the top of the sixth, the Oaks finally got on the board in the bottom half. 

Witkow led off the inning with a rocket single up the middle, coming on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Left fielder Tyler Antwine followed with a ground ball through the 5-6 hole, putting two runners on with nobody out. After designated hitter Tyson Reis flew out to center, the runners moved up on a wild pitch with catcher Aiden Voyles at the plate.

After punching out in his first two at-bats, Voyles slapped a high chopper to the second baseman to score Witkow and get the Oaks on the board, yet they still trailed 8–1 going into the seventh. 

Through the first six innings, the Oaks left seven runners on base.

Seth Slagiel relieved Martin in the visitor half of the eighth. The right-hander ran into some trouble in his first appearance of the summer. The Foresters tagged Slagiel for four earned runs in his lone inning of work, taking a 12–1 lead. 

In the bottom half of the eighth, Antwine looped a single into right field with one out; it was the outfielder's third hit of the contest. The next batter, Reis, smoked a double over the right fielder's head off the base of the wall to put runners on the corners. After a strikeout, Rodriguez lifted a fly ball to left field that was misplayed by the Foresters, allowing Antwine and Reis to score as the Oaks cut into the lead, 12–3. 

In the ninth inning, utility man James Latshaw came on for his third appearance of the summer on the mound. The right-hander allowed one run on one hit and one walk. 

In the bottom of the ninth, the Oaks cut into the Foresters' double-digit lead. Contreras led off the inning with a ground ball single to right field. With one out, Jackson singled up the middle to put runners on the corners. The following batter, Witkow, laced a two-RBI double in the gap to make it a 13–5 game. 

The Oaks and Foresters both had 13 hits, but the Santa Barbara club worked seven free passes compared to only one for the Oaks. The Oaks are now 0–4 against the Foresters this summer. 

Contreras and Antwine both had three-hit games in the loss. It was Contreras's fifth game of the summer with at least three hits.