The Santa Barbara Foresters hammered 11 extra-base hits in a 20-2 victory over the Wichita Wild Wings on Wednesday night in their opening game at the National Baseball Congress World Series. Santa Barbara (34-16) advances in the winners’ bracket to face the Plaza Tire Capahas of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in a game scheduled to start at 11 a.m. (PDT) on Friday, August 8.
The Foresters showed no mercy against a hometown Wichita team that was a late replacement for the Fort Lauderdale Superstars, who did not make the trip from Florida. Chad Mozingo led off the game with the first of his four hits and scored on a triple by Andre Miller. The Foresters scored five runs in the first inning.
Leading 11-2 entering the seventh, the Foresters scored nine times, capped by Ryan Engrav‘s three-run homer, and the game was called after the Wild Wings went out in the bottom of the inning. Mozingo also homered for the winners. UCSB’s Mike Ford, who struck out four batters in two innings, was the winning pitcher.
Santa Barbara will meet a more seasoned team on Friday. The Capahas are making their 27th consecutive appearance in the NBC World Series. Their manager, Jess Bolen, is being inducted into the NBC Hall of Fame after compiling a record of 1,331-346 over the past 42 years.
The Foresters have a streak of 16 appearances in Wichita. They won the NBC championship in 2006. Their games are being broadcast on AM 1340 or via the Internet at sbforesters.org. (The online broadcasts are brought to you by independent.com.)