Dylan Francis was sharp on the mound for Ventura, pitching six scoreless innings of two-hit baseball and retiring the last 14 batters he faced as the VC baseball team defeated Santa Barbara 8-2 Saturday afternoon at Pirate Park. Kaden Betsch and Brendan Griffith each had two-RBI singles and Chris McKee had three hits and scored two runs for Ventura (15-9, 5-4) as they moved into a second place tie with SBCC and Moorpark, one half game behind Cuesta in the crowded Western State Conference North Division.
After a 1-2-3 first inning, Francis worked his way out of a one-out, two runners on jam in the second. He would not allow another baserunner on the day as he forced the Vaqueros into six zeros on the board, striking out two batters.
Ventura took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Shane Gipson and McKee each singled, and Rodolfo Aguilar was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Blake Chiaramonte hit into a 5-3 groundout to score Gipson, and Griffith followed with a single to score McKee and Aguilar.
Santa Barbara closed to within 3-2 with a pair of scores in the top of the seventh, but Ventura iced the game with a five-run eighth inning.
In the eighth, the Pirates scored five times on just three hits. Griffith walked and Bryson Wallet reached on an error to open the frame. Both runners advanced on a pass ball, then Elijah Alexander walked to load the bases. Betsch followed with a dribbling single up the middle to score two runs. Alexander and Betsch each then advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch, and one batter later, Alexander scored on a passed ball with Betsch moving to third base. With two outs, Betsch scored on another wild pitch. McKee followed with a single and a stolen base, his second of the day, and scored on Aguilar's RBI single.
Jackson Hickert threw two scoreless innings of relief for his second save of the year.
The Pirates will conclude the two-game set with the Vaqueros on Tuesday March 28 in Santa Barbara.