Things were looking good for the Pirates on opening day, until they weren't. Baseball is like that.
VC led 4-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning Friday at LA Valley when a pair of defensive miscues and a clutch Monarch hit led to a four run inning and a 7-4 defeat for the Pirates (0-1). Jacob Harris was 2-4, including a double, with a pair of runs batted in while AJ Medrano also had two base knocks with a double while scoring two runs and batting in another. Jackson Hickert pitched a solid five innings, allowing three runs with six strikeouts.
VC gave up a two-run home run in the fourth inning,and a sacrifice fly in the fifth to fall behind 3-0.
In the top of the sixth, Medrano and Zane Chittenden each had one-out singles, and Brian Guy drew a pinch-hit walk to load the bases. Harris then came up with the clutch hit, a two-out, two-RBI single to pull Ventura back to within 3-2.
With the Pirates batting in the seventh, Medrano doubled in TJ Foreman, then Chittenden singled home Medrano as the Pirates took a 4-3 lead.
In the bottom of the eight, the wheels came off for the Pirates. Two errors helped load the bases, and the Monarchs took advantage with a three-run triple and a sacrifice fly to set the final 7-4 margin.
Chittenden was 2-3 on the day with an RBI and a run scored while Foreman also had two base hits with a run scored. Travis Weston pitched two innings to take the hard-luck loss and Blake Campbell threw a perfect ninth for Ventura.
the Pirates return to the diamond Saturday Jan. 26 at Fullerton. First pitch is slated for 12:00 noon.