The Pirate baseball team raced to a 4-0 advantage through four innings Thursday at Pirate Park before falling to Hancock 6-5 in Western State Conference action. Dylan Jackson had an RBI double and Yuki Kawashima recorded two hits, including a triple, and scored twice to lead Ventura (13-13, 5-8). Harrison Cordeiro pitched three innings of scoreless relief to give VC a chance down the stretch.
Ventura struck in the home half of the first inning taking a 1-0 lead. Kawashima led off with a single and one out later, Jackson was hit by a pitch. Peter Dufau followed with a walk to load the bases before all three runners moved ahead 90 feet on a wild pitch with Kawashima scoring.
VC also plated a run in the bottom of the third inning. Haiden Letzing hit a one-out single and Jackson followed with an RBI double for the 2-0 advantage.
The Pirates doubled their lead in the fourth. David King singled to open the frame and moved to second on a wild pitch one out later. Bryce Elias then hit an RBI single before being caught stealing for the second out. Jacob Tostado singled and Kawashima walked before Letzing knocked in Tostado with an RBI single for the 4-0 margin.
The Bulldogs took 1 5-4 lead with three runs in the fifth and another two in the sixth. AHC added an insurance run in the seventh.
Kawashima tripled to lead of the bottom of the seventh, then scored on a wild pitch one out later to cut the deficit to 6-5, but Ventura could not plate the game-tying run.
Tostado drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth, but the Pirates could not push him home.
The Pirates and Bulldogs will conclude their three-game set on Saturday April 6 in Santa Maria.