The sounds of baseballs rocketing off wooden bats will resonate at Pershing Park, the new home of the Santa Barbara Foresters, for seven weekends in June and July. Evicted from UCSB’s Caesar Uyesaka Stadium after 26 years, the Foresters will begin playing at the park on the corner of Castillo Street and Cabrillo Boulevard on June 9 against the visiting Orange County Riptide.
Bill Pintard, the club’s manager and executive director, said it took the cooperation of City Parks and Recreation, SBCC, and the Santa Barbara Adult Softball League to keep the Foresters playing ball in their hometown.
Founded in 1991, the Foresters adopted the name of a legendary team sponsored by the Foresters Lodge in the 1950s. They have established themselves as one of the nation’s most successful summer baseball teams. Last year they won their record-tying sixth National Baseball Congress World Series championship in Wichita, Kansas.