The VC baseball team won its sixth straight game Saturday, defeating Los Angeles Pierce 8-2 at Pirate Park. Starting pitcher Cooper Smith threw five scoreless innings giving up three hits with seven strikeouts to pick up the win. Garrick Levesque knocked in two runs and scored two more while Nick Schnopp had a pair of hits, including a double, with two runs scored.
Ventura scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning to take the early lead. Schnopp had a one-out single and Andrew Savage was hit by a pitch. Ramon Torres flied out to right field and Schnopp tagged-up to third before the Pirates executed a double steal with Savage moving to second as Schnopp scored. Levesque then had an RBI single for the 2-0 Ventura edge.
In the fourth inning, VC scored another run on a double-steal situation. With JR Godinez on first and Levesque on third, Godinez broke to second base and error on the Brahmas' catcher then allowed Levesque to score. Ventura led 3-0.
The Pirates then broke the game open in the sixth inning. Savage led off by reaching base on an error and Torres singled, Levesque walked to load the bases before Julien Monks hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Godinez then had an RBI-double and John Oleson hit a sacrifice fly to score Levesque one batter later.
Pierce finally got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, but Ventura got one back in the bottom half of the frame when Levesque hit a sacrifice fly to score Schnopp, who led off the inning with a double.
In the eighth, Reiss Calvin led off with a single and stole second. He then moved to third on a passed ball before Casey Turturici sacrificed him home with a fly ball to left field to set the final margin.
Torres finished the game with a pair of hits and an RBI while Monks also recorded two hits in the game.
Ryan Sweeney and Sebastian Garcia each pitched one inning of scoreless relief while Dawson Radik threw a pair of columns without a run out of the bull pen.
VC (15-13, 10-5) now sits in a second-place tie with Santa Barbara in the Western State Conference North Division standings, three games behind league-leading Cuesta and a game ahead of Moorpark. The Pirates will next play the Raiders in a three-game series beginning Tuesday April 5 at Moorpark.