After spotting visiting Oxnard with two runs in the top of the first inning, the Ventura College baseball team scored five unanswered runs to defeat the Condors Thursday afternoon at Pirate Park. Justin Friedman picked up his sixth win of the season going seven innings and allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts. Brendan Griffith was 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI, while Chris McKee and Blake Chiaramonte also recorded two hits on the day for VC (16-10, 6-5).
Ventura got out of the blocks slowly, as they gave up two runs in the first inning, one of them earned. After the rough frame, Friedman settled in, throwing six shutout innings with three hits the rest of his time on the mound.
The Pirates got one run back in the third. Shane Gipson singled on a high pop up that landed in the middle of five infielders to open the inning, and McKee doubled to put runners on second and third. Rodolfo Aguilar walked to load the bases, and after a pop out, Griffith hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Gipson.
Ventura took the lead with a three-run fifth inning. With one out, Chiaramonte and Griffith had back-to-back singles, followed by a walk to Bryson Wallet. Elijah Alexander had the clutch hit with a two-RBI single scoring Chiaramonte and Griffith. Two batters later, Nick Bero singled in Alexander and VC led 4-2.
VC got an insurance run in the bottom of the eight inning when Aguilar doubled home T.J. Durfee, and Taylor Campos came in to pitch a perfect ninth inning with two punch outs for his fourth save of the season.
The Pirate win was the team's third against Oxnard this season, clinching the four-game set with the Condors. Ventura will finish out the series on Saturday April 1 with a game in Oxnard at 1:00 pm.