WICHITA, Kan. – The Santa Barbara (Calif.) Foresters had defeated the Seattle (Wash.) Studs twice in previous National Baseball Congress World Series (NBCWS) championship games in 2008 and 2012. The Foresters would not be denied a third time Saturday (Aug. 9) in the 80th annual championship, overcoming deficits twice before prevailing 3-2 in 12 innings to win their fifth NBCWS title and the third in the past four years. Santa Barbara (5-1 in tournament play) scored single runs in the sixth and eighth innings to tie the game, and went ahead for good in the 12th on Granger Studdard’s two-out double which scored Ford Stainback from first. Jaylin Davis led the 15-hit attack with four hits, including two doubles, and scored twice. Troy Cruz, the fourth of four pitchers for Santa Barbara, earned the win with three innings of shutout relief, allowing two hits and being helped out when Davis threw out a runner trying to score on a single in the 10th that prevented the Studs from scoring the winning run. Seattle (5-2), which broke a three-game losing streak in championship games last year with a win over Wellington (Kan.), was stymied in its effort to win back-to-back championships. -Mike Dean, NBC Statistician