Ejection, Chaos, Walk Off Win: Just Another Evening at Eddie Mathews Field

The Santa Barbara Foresters did not just win Saturday evening. 

They survived. 

In a back-and-forth game against the Academy Barons, controversy, late-inning growing tension, and one final swing that sent Eddie Mathews Field into celebration. The Foresters defeated the Academy Barons in a walk-off fashion after nine dramatic innings of summer baseball. 

Before the chaos began, the evening opened with a special Foresters ceremonial pitch from Steven Coe, a Foresters alumnus and a part of the 2016 CCL Champion team. He threw out the first pitch as Santa Barbara celebrated 10 years since that championship season. It was a grand start to a night that had quickly turned into a really exciting game. 

On the mound for the Foresters, AJ Krodel got the start for Santa Barbara and helped the Foresters settle in a little early. The Foresters came out with a lot of energy, struck first, and looked like they were beginning to take good control of the game. Santa Barbara's offense had found ways to put pressure on the Academy Barons, while the defense worked alongside Krodel. 

However, the Academy Barons were nowhere interested in letting the Foresters have an easy winning game. Every time Santa Barbara seemed ready to stretch the game open, Academy answered. The Barons continued to battle, forcing semi-long innings and making the Foresters work for each of the three outs. 

Interestingly, what had started as a strong Santa Barbara lead had slowly turned into a literal back-and-forth ball game. 

A giant emotional shift of the evening came after a controversial call involving Marcus Greis at third base in the second inning. Foresters manager Bill Pintard came out to defend his guys, and after a heated exchange, he was ejected from the game. Pintard's first ejection of the season had entirely changed the feel of the game. The crowd grew louder, and both dugouts came alive. 

For Santa Barbara, the moment also seemed to knock the team off ever so slightly. After Pintard's ejection, the Foresters had to battle through some shaky moments on both sides of the ball. The Barons took advantage, pushing the game tighter and turning what felt controlled into a nail-biter. 

From this very moment, every inning carried some weight. 

Every pitch felt stronger, every ball in play had a chance to change the outcome of the game. The Barons attempted to fight back, while the Foresters tried to regain their early composure to hold off a team that refused to stop coming back for more. 

Yet, by the time the bottom of the ninth came around, the score was still locked in previous drama. Santa Barbara needed a big moment if they wanted to win. 

Luke Cornelison championed exactly that. 

Cornelison, the sophomore infielder, stepped into the box with the game on the line, where he produced the biggest swing of the evening. His walk-off hit drove in the winning run, sealing a solid 6-5 Foresters victory and sending out the Santa Barbara dugout running out onto the field in celebration. 

The Foresters had once again proved that no game is truly over until the final out is recorded. 

The Santa Barbara Foresters will return to action against the San Diego Bombers at Eddie Mathews Field on June 14th at 2:00 PM!