The VC baseball team hung around long enough for its offense to come through. Trailing 5-3 to Cuesta headed to the bottom of the eighth, the Pirates plated six runs, punctuated by Reiss Calvin's two-run home run, to defeat the Cougars 9-5 Thursday at Pirate Park. Calvin had a double, triple and homer on the day, with three runs batted in, and Mason Reid had a pair of hits with an RBI and a run scored to lead the way. Cooper Smith pitched Ventura (6-9, 2-1) into the fifth inning and Ryan Sweeney threw three solid frames of relief to pick up the win.
While Cuesta scored twice in the top of the third to take the early lead, VC came right back with a pair of scores in the bottom of the frame. Calvin started the two-out rally with a triple, then came home on Connor Hickey's double. Hickey then stole third and scored on Reid's RBI single.
The Cougars chased Pirate starter Smith out of the game in the fifth with two more runs. Logan Knight came on in relief to retire two batters and get VC's defense off the field trailing 4-2.
The Pirates then answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Yuki Kawashima led off with a single, then raced all the way home on Calvin's deep double.
The score remained 4-3 until Cuesta plated an insurance run in the top of the eighth.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, the insurance did not work as VC exploded for six runs in the bottom of the eighth to take control. Reid and Haiden Letzing led off the inning with back-to-back singles and Andrew Savage loaded the bases with a walk. Christian Herrera was hit by a pitch to force home a run and Gage Allen hit an RBI single one out later. Kawashima then reached base on a fielder's choice scoring Savage, and pinch runner Bryce Elias scored on the botched throw on the attempted double-play by the Cougars. Calvin then punctuated the rally with a two-run bomb for a 9-5 Pirate lead.
Livio Bundi came in to close the game on the mound for VC, holding the 9-5 margin.
Smith struck out five over his 4.1 innings of work, and Pirate pitching issued just two walks in the game.
Letzing ended the game with a pair of hits and a run scored while Allen also recorded two base hits. Kawashima scored a pair of runs in the victory.
Ventura makes a quick turnaround, hosting Moorpark on Friday March 3 to close their initial three-game set with the Raiders. First pitch is slated for 2:00 pm at Pirate Park.