The Pirate baseball team won its third game in its last four outings on Friday with a 7-4 victory over Citrus at Pirate Park. Bryce Elias hit a pair of triples with two runs scored and two runs batted in to lead the way and Yuki Kawashima recorded a pair of hits while scoring a run. A team of five relievers came out of the bullpen for VC, throwing five innings and giving up one run on two hits to hold the victory for the Pirates (12-12, 4-7).
Kawashima singled to lead off the bottom of the first, coming home to score when Dylan Jackson hit into a fielder's choice for a 1-0 VC advantage.
The Pirates strung together four straight hits to open the second to add three more scores. David King led off with a double and came home on Mason Reid's single. Elias had an RBI triple, then scored when Mitchell Collins singled.
VC posted another three-spot on the board in the bottom of the third to take full control of the game. Peter Dufau drew a walk to start the rally, followed by a single by Aaron McLeod. King grounded out to the third baseman to move the runners ahead 90 feet and Reid hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Dufau. Elias then hit his second RBI triple in as many innings, then scored on a wild pitch for the 7-0 VC margin.
The Owls climbed back into the contest with three runs in the top of the fourth, after which the Pirates went to the bullpen to finish the game. After Dominic Bayless made the start and worked through four complete frames, Ben Drumheller came on to pitch a scoreless fifth inning to pick up the win. Domingo Gaxiola threw a scoreless sixth and Ryan Dexter induced an inning-ending double play to post another zero for the seventh. Jacob Tostado yielded a single run in the eighth before Jaden Valdez picked up his fourth save of the year with a perfect ninth.
VC returns to Western State Conference action on Tuesday April 2 at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria.