SEAN BOSTON
Hutch Post
WICHITA, Kan. — The Hutchinson Monarchs will take on the Santa Barbara (Calif.) Foresters in the NBC World Series championship game at Eck Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Monarchs and Foresters are the only two teams that are undefeated in the tournament to this point.
Hutchinson will be playing in its first-ever NBC World Series championship game, while Santa Barbara is making its 13th appearance all-time in the title game. The Foresters have won 10 NBC World Series championships to date, including three straight and eight of the last 13.
The Monarchs path to the championship game has been pretty smooth sailing. Hutchinson beat the Hays Larks (6-4), Seattle Blackfins (12-1) and GPS Legends (12-11) in pool play, and then have beaten Lonestar Baseball Club (11-1) and Five Tool Kraken (17-0) in bracket play.
The Foresters have also had a pretty clear path to the title game. Santa Barbara beat Five Tool Kraken (10-0), Great Bend Bat Cats (5-4) and Sandlot Baseball (11-4) in pool play, and then Denver Cougars (3-0) and the Seattle Studs (5-0) in bracket play.
Hutchinson has been hard to stop at the plate in the tournament, hitting a tournament-high .381 with a tournament-high 58 runs scored in the five games. Max Buettenback is third in the tournament with a .556 batting average (10-for-18, 3 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, tournament-high 10 RBI). Sam Wiese who the Monarchs picked up for the tournament has a tournament-high two home runs, while hitting .474 (9-for-19, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI). Six of the regulars in the Monarchs' batting lineup are hitting at least .400 at the plate in the world series.
Santa Barbara has done their damage on the mound with a world series-low 1.67 earned run average. The Foresters also have a tournament-high three shutouts and a tournament-high 56 strikeouts, while only issuing a tournament-low 14 walks. The Foresters pitching staff is anchored by Zane Petty, who plays at Texas Tech University. Petty is 2-0 in the world series, and in 13 innings pitched, he's allowed just five hits and no runs, while striking out 14 and walking only two. Will Rogers, an Arizona State product leads the offensive attack for the Foresters, hitting .353 (6-for-17) with a double, home run and four RBI.
Stay tuned to Hutch Post later this afternoon for the live video stream.