Sophomore catcher Julianne Abeloe went 4-4 at the plate with a double, a triple and three runs batted in, and threw out three would-be base stealers at second base to lead the Pirate softball team to an 8-2 victory over Grossmont in the play-in round of the CCCAA SoCal Regional Playoffs Tuesday at the VC Softball Complex. Pitcher Anissa Padilla struck out eight Griffins to pickup the complete-game win as VC advanced to the best two-of-three round of the playoffs for the second straight year.
The No. 16-seeded Pirates (29-12) scored a run in the first and two more in the second to take an early 3-0 advantage. No. 17 Grossmont responded with a pair of scores in the third frame before Ventura got one in the fourth and three more runs in the sixth.
VC smacked out 13 hits on the day. Ariana Rivas was 2-3 with a pair of RBI and Julianna Andrade went 2-4 with one run batted in. Padilla had a pair of hits, including a triple, and Christina Hart also had two hits. Alyssa Frutos recorded a hit with an RBI.
Ventura advances to the first round of the playoffs Saturday and Sunday May 6 and 7. The Pirates will travel to No. 2 Mt. San Antonio for the best-of-three series with one game Saturday and the second and third game, if necessary, on Sunday.