SOFTBALL: The Pirates were not kind Tuesday in welcoming their cross-county rivals at the VC Softball Complex. Ventura swept defending conference champion Moorpark 17-2 and 8-0 in a double header to claim sole possession of first place in the Western State Conference Gold Division. Alex Thorp was 5-5 at the plate on the day and pitched both victories. Meanwhile Roxanne Lopez had three hits on the day, including a triple, with five RBI. Julia Garcia smacked her eighth home run of the season and knocked in four runs.
Ventura 17, Moorpark 2
The Pirates broke the game open with an 11-run third inning. Julia Garcia had a two-run home run in the first inning, and finished the game with three RBI. Lopez was 3-4 with a bases-loaded third-inning triple. She knocked in five runs. Alex Thorp was 2-2 at the plate with a walk and three runs scored and also pitched a two-hitter. Veronica Garcia also came across home plate three times.
Ventura 8, Moorpark 0
Ventura hit four triples on the day, and scored three runs in each of the final two innings to win in five frames via the mercy rule. Alex Thorp pitched the win and batted 3-3 with a triple and two RBI. Alyssa Mendoza also had a pair of hits, including a triple, and batted in one run. Ashley Thorp and Melissa Serrano also tripled and had one RBI, each. Julia Garcia was 1-1 with a run batten in, as well.
Ventura next travels to Santa Barbara on Thursday March 20 for a 2:30pm contest.