Foresters claim 11th NBC Series title

2026 STARS BASEBALL

FORESTERS FINISH HISTORIC RUN WITH RECORD 11TH NBC WORLD SERIES TITLE

SANTA BARBARA RALLIES PAST ALASKA IN WICHITA FINALE

From staff and wire reports

WICHITA, Kan. — Twenty years after winning its first National Baseball Congress World Series championship, the Santa Barbara Foresters returned to the top of the nation’s premier summer baseball tournament Saturday night.

The Foresters scored six times over the final two innings to defeat the Alaska Goldpanners, 7-2, at Equity Bank Park, completing an undefeated tournament run and securing their record 11th NBC World Series championship.

Santa Barbara finished 6-0 in Wichita, outscoring its opponents 49-4 while recording four shutouts. The Foresters concluded their summer with a 32-6 overall record, the California Collegiate League South Division championship and their first NBC crown since 2022.

No other organization has won as many championships during the 92-year history of the tournament.

Manager and executive director Bill Pintard has guided the Foresters to all 11 titles, beginning with the organization’s breakthrough championship in 2006. Santa Barbara has won those 11 championships within a remarkable 20-year span.

FORESTERS TURN THE GAME IN THE EIGHTH

The championship began as a pitchers’ duel between two programs with extensive NBC World Series pedigrees.

Santa Barbara starter Zane Burns worked four scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out five. Alaska starter Colt McKibben answered with three shutout innings, permitting only one hit and striking out four.

The game remained scoreless until Chris Newstrom doubled in the sixth. Walks to Carter Rutenbar and Sawyer Farr loaded the bases before Easton Moomau’s sacrifice fly gave Santa Barbara a 1-0 lead.

Alaska answered in the bottom half. Matthew Pinal drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game, and James Dell’Amico’s infield single moved the Goldpanners in front, 2-1.

Luke Cornelison entered during the inning and prevented any further damage, giving the Foresters an opportunity to rally.

Rutenbar opened the eighth with a walk before Kurt Ippolito dropped down a sacrifice bunt. The ensuing throw sailed into the outfield, allowing Rutenbar to score from first and Ippolito to advance to third.

A balk then brought Ippolito home with the go-ahead run.

Cornelison protected the 3-2 lead with a perfect bottom of the eighth, striking out two.

FOUR-RUN NINTH PUTS CHAMPIONSHIP AWAY

The Foresters removed any remaining suspense with four runs in the ninth.

Donovan LaSalle scored when Newstrom’s drive was misplayed into an RBI triple. Ippolito, Farr and Joseph Sandusky followed with run-scoring singles, extending the margin to 7-2.

Cornelison retired Alaska in order in the bottom of the ninth, setting off the Foresters’ championship celebration. The Arkansas product earned Player of the Game honors after pitching 3⅓ scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five.

Burns, Grady Westphal and Cornelison combined for 12 strikeouts in the championship game.

Ippolito went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Newstrom finished 2-for-5 with a triple and two runs, while Rutenbar walked four times and scored twice.

Newstrom entered the championship batting .381 with eight hits and three RBI during the tournament, then added two more hits in the final. The Foresters’ balanced lineup and relentless pitching staff proved too deep for every opponent they encountered.

DOMINANCE FROM START TO FINISH

Santa Barbara did not trail at the completion of any tournament game and allowed only four runs across six contests.

The Foresters opened Pool C with an 8-0 victory over the Great Bend Bat Cats, then overwhelmed the BTL Hornets, 13-0. A 7-2 victory over the Liberal Bee Jays completed a 3-0 pool record.

The dominance continued in bracket play. Santa Barbara shut out the Austin Gold Sox, 7-0, in the quarterfinals before blanking the previously unbeaten Junction City Brigade by the same score in the semifinals.

Alaska followed a different road to the championship. The Goldpanners defeated defending champion Hutchinson, 7-4, in the quarterfinals and routed Lonestar Baseball Club, 9-1, in the semifinals.

That set up a championship between two of the most decorated programs in NBC history. Alaska owns six national titles, but the Goldpanners could not prevent Santa Barbara from adding another trophy to the tournament’s largest collection.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY CONNECTIONS EARN CHAMPIONSHIP

The Foresters’ championship roster included three players from San Diego County: infielder Addison Klepsch of San Diego and UC San Diego, pitcher Noah Waldeck of Vista and pitcher Joey Wittig of San Diego.

Klepsch contributed an RBI single during Santa Barbara’s opening victory over Great Bend. Waldeck started that game and set the tone for the entire tournament, pitching five scoreless innings while allowing two hits and striking out five.

Wittig, a San Diego product who plays collegiately at Louisiana Tech, was also part of the championship pitching staff.

Their contributions extended the local connection to a national champion even after the San Diego Stars’ tournament ended in pool play.

FORESTERS’ ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Pool play

• Santa Barbara 8, Great Bend 0
• Santa Barbara 13, BTL Hornets 0
• Santa Barbara 7, Liberal Bee Jays 2

Bracket play

• Quarterfinal: Santa Barbara 7, Austin Gold Sox 0
• Semifinal: Santa Barbara 7, Junction City Brigade 0
• Championship: Santa Barbara 7, Alaska Goldpanners 2

Tournament record: 6-0
Runs scored: 49
Runs allowed: 4
Shutouts: 4

GOLDPANNERS’ RUN REFLECTS STRENGTH OF STARS’ POOL

Alaska’s advancement to the championship reinforced the difficulty of the pool assigned to the San Diego Stars.

The Goldpanners defeated San Diego, 6-1, during Pool D play and eventually advanced through the bracket with victories over the defending national champion and another pool runner-up.

San Diego went 2-3 against the Goldpanners in a trip to Fairbanks in early July.

Hays also beat the Stars before winning Pool D, while Tess’s Army secured the pool’s third bracket berth with a 4-1 victory over San Diego.

The Stars finished 0-3 and were outscored 21-5, ending their attempt to repeat last year’s recovery from an 0-2 start. San Diego had won its final pool game in 2025, advanced as a third seed and earned a victory in the single-elimination bracket.

STARS CLOSE SUMMER AS WBA CHAMPIONS

Although San Diego’s trip to Wichita ended without a victory, the Stars reached the NBC World Series by winning the Western Baseball Association championship.

They defeated the Bulldogs, 10-3, in the WBA semifinal at Palomar College before rallying from five runs down to beat the San Diego Waves, 11-7, in the title game.

Jason Wright led the Stars during the NBC World Series by going 3-for-9 with two doubles. Liam Herrera finished 3-for-10, while Finn Royer supplied San Diego’s best pitching performance with three scoreless innings in relief.

The Stars’ tournament ended during pool play, but their WBA championship returned the organization to Wichita and continued the national legacy established by late founder Mickey Deutschman, a 2021 NBC Hall of Fame inductee.

By Saturday night, the 92nd NBC World Series belonged to another California program. Santa Barbara completed one of the most dominant runs in tournament history and carried a record 11th championship back to the West Coast.

Related Posts

• 
  Sweetwater Valley wins SoCal banner
• 
  Kirk, Sonnier head national rematch
• 
  Sweetwater Valley reaches SoCal finals