The Pirate baseball team's three game winning streak came to an end Saturday with a 9-4 non-conference loss at El Camino-Compton Center. Bradley Fullerton was 2-3, including a double, with two RBI and a run scored while Tony Fonzo was 2-4 with a pair of doubles while scoring twice.
VC started the game out with a run in the top of the first. Robert Stephan tripled out of the gate, and came home on Codi Santana's sacrifice fly for a 1-0 Pirate lead. That advantage was short-lived, however, as the Tartars came back with three runs in the bottom half of the frame, one more in the second, and three more in the fourth to go ahead 7-1.
VC showed signs of life in the top of the sixth inning. Fonzo had a one-out double, and one batter later, came home of Fullerton's two-out double. Jordan Simon followed that up with a single and a throwing error on the third baseman that allowed Fullerton to score.
Fonzo had another one-out double in the eighth, and Fullerton followed a batter later with another two-out hit to drive him home. The Pirates allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth to set the final margin at 9-4.
Simon also ended the day with a pair of hits and an RBI while Michael Volaski also recorded two hits.
Greg Minier started on the hill, pitching four complete innings. Alex Van Es followed with three innings of work, and Jeff Schwartz finished the final inning for VC.
The Pirates return to Western State Conference play on Tuesday April 7 at Pirate Park against the Moorpark Raiders. The final meeting of the year between the two county rivals begins at 2:30 pm.