Kodi Koorndyk made the best of his first starting opportunity of the season, throwing six solid innings, allowing one run and six hits while striking out nine batters in Ventura's 9-1 victory over Citrus Sunday afternoon at Pirate Park. Blake Chiaramonte was 3-5 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored and Taylor Campos had a hit and two walks with an RBI, a stolen base and three runs scored.
Brent Dickey picked up two scoreless innings of relief on the mound, and Campos closed the door for the victory.
T.J. Durfee was 2-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base while Brendan Griffith added two hits including a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
After spotting the Owls a run in the top of the first, Ventura (11-6, 2-1) plated three runs in the bottom half of the inning, and two more in the third. They added one more in the fourth, two in the sixth, and one in the eighth for the runaway win.
In the first, Chris McKee singled and stole second to lead off the game, after an out, Chiaramonte singled in McKee, the scored on Griffith's double. Bryson Wallet advanced Griffith to third on a single, and Durfee's groundout scored Griffith from third. VC led 3-1.
In the third frame, Chiaramonte singled with one out, then came all the way around to score when Griffith singled and the Owls made two additional errors on the play. Griffith ended up on third base, and scored on Wallet's groundout for a 5-1 Pirate advantage.
Campos singled to lead off the fourth inning, stole a base, and went to third on a wild pitch. Shane Gipson flied out to left field to score Campos and the score was 6-1.
The Pirates added more insurance in the sixth inning. Durfee had a one-out single, and Campos was hit by a pitch. Kaden Betsch reached on an error, and Durfee came in to score before Betsch and Campos executed a double-steal, with Campos crossing the plate.
A single and two walks loaded the bases for Ventura in the eight before a strikeout and a fielder's choice at home made two outs. Rodolfo Aguilar came up with a clutch hit to score Campos from third and the score was 9-1 for the Pirates.
Ventura will travel to Moorpark on Tuesday March 14 for a 2:30 pm contest before hosting Cuesta on Thursday March 16.