2021 Ventura College Baseball Team News
In a year like no other with online learning, season cancelations and COVID-shortened schedules, Ventura College Athletics still transferred 36 student athletes to four-year schools for the 2020-21 academic year, as of August 10. Of those transfers, 19 plan on continuing competing in their sport(s) across all divisions of intercollegiate competition. There were 15 transfers who received athletic scholarships while 20 received academic aid to their new school.
Pirate baseball designated hitter Chase McBean has been named to the Southern California All-State team for the 2021 season as designated by the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association. The second-year freshman from Boca Raton, FL was also a first team All-Western State Conference selection.
Pirate outfielders JR Godinez and Elijah Maris and designated hitter Chase McBean all earned first team All-Western State Conference honors for the 2021 season in voting by the conference coaches earlier this month. Godinez also received a Gold Glove award for his defensive prowess along with catcher Max Baldaccini. Baldaccini, Anthony Chavez, Garrick Levesque and Casey Turturici all were named second team All-WSC.
Ventura College student athletes excelled once again in the classroom in the spring semester, achieving an overall 3.22 grade point average. A total of 106 Pirates earned Dean's List honors by posting at least a 3.5 GPA in 12 or more units of study, with 49 of them recording a perfect 4.0 GPA of all A's. Of VC's 19 intercollegiate athletic teams, 17 earned an overall GPA of 3.0 or better.
The Ventura College baseball team kept its offense humming on Saturday, defeating Antelope valley 10-3 and 10-8 to close the 2021 Covid-shortened season at Pirate Park. Catcher Max Baldaccini had three hist on the day, including a double and a home run, while scoring three times with six runs batted in to lead the offense. Joseph Wiersma pitched four innings in starting Game 1, giving up one run with four strikeouts while Robby Keister picked up the win in Game 2, throwing five complete allowing two hits and one run while punching out five.
Scoring runs was not a problem for the Pirate baseball team Thursday as they put up four touchdowns in taking two games from Antelope Valley, 14-11 and 14-3 in Lancaster. VC banged out 29 hits in the two games, led by John Oleson who had five hits while scoring five runs with three runs batted in on the day. Max Flame scattered eight hits over six innings, giving up three runs, two earned, with eight strikeouts to pick up the win in the nightcap.
The Ventura College baseball team split a pair of games against Oxnard College Friday at Pirate Park. VC dropped the opening 7-inning game 12-2 to the Condors before coming back in the nightcap to claim an 8-5 victory. Centerfielder JR Godinez was one of four Pirates with two hits in the second game, along with Anthony Chavez, Elijah Maris and Ramon Torres. Robby Keister pitched five innings and gave up two runs to pick up the victory in the nightcap.
The Ventura College baseball team swept a double-header at Oxnard on Wednesday, defeating the Condors 6-1 and 7-1. Jake Read pitched a seven-inning complete game shutout in the opener while the Pirate bullpen hurled five scoreless innings in relief in the nightcap. Anthony Chavez carried the big bat for VC with four hits, including two doubles and a home run, and five runs batted in on the day. Chase McBean scored four runs from his lead-off position in the two games.
The Ventura College baseball team traveled to Bakersfield Saturday and dropped a pair of games to the Renegades, 7-4 and 11-4. Anthony Chavez had three hits, including a pair of doubles, while scoring four runs with a run batted in to lead VC.
The VC baseball team was on the short end and on the long end of a pair of blow-outs Thursday afternoon with visiting Bakersfield College at Pirate Park. Ventura dropped Game 1 of the twin-bill 8-1 in seven innings before coming back to defeat the Renegades 11-2 in the nightcap. Lead-off man Chase McBean had three hits and scored four runs with a run batted in on the day.
Ventura College assistant baseball coach Andrew Cotner passed away last week after a long health battle with multiple health ailments. The former left-handed hurler joined the Pirate staff in 2020 for VC’s Covid-shortened campaign. His health issues prevented him from returning to the dugout this season.
The VC baseball team traveled to Santa Maria Saturday, dropping a pair of games to Western State Conference frontrunner Allan Hancock College. The Pirates fell 10-5 in the 7-inning opener before dropping the second to the Bulldogs, 17-7. Elijah Maris had pair of hits on the day with three runs batted in and a run scored while Connor Laeng scored twice with two hits and an RBI.
The VC baseball team dropped a pair of games to the visiting Allan Hancock Bulldogs Thursday at Pirate Park. Ventura fell in the first contest 8-0 before losing the nightcap 13-7. Elijah Maris had a pair of hits in the opener while JR Godinez was 2-4 with three runs batted in and Ramon Torres was 2-4 with two runs scored in game two.
The Pirate baseball team traveled to Moorpark on Saturday, coming home with a double-header sweep of the Raiders. In the opener, Joseph Wiersma pitched five innings of shutout ball, allowing just one hit while striking out four while Max Baldaccini had three runs batted in, including two on a double in VC's 5-run fifth inning. In the nightcap, Baldaccini provided the big bat once again with a grand slam home run in the 7-run second frame, leading Ventura to a 12-3 win.
It was a wild day at Pirate Park on Thursday. Ventura and Moorpark combined for 47 runs in two games as the Pirates and Raiders split a twin-bill. VC trailed by as many as 10 runs in game one before coming back to win in walk-off fashion 16-15 before falling to their cross-county rivals 10-6 in the nightcap. JR Godinez led the Pirate offense with five hits, five runs batted in and two runs scored over the 16 innings of play. Travis Nelson picked up the win on the mound in the opener while Robby Keister picked up the save.
The Pirate baseball team came back twice on the visiting Oxnard Condors, only to see OC prevail with late rallies in two games Thursday afternoon at Pirate Park. Ventura (4-4) trailed 5-0 in game one, coming back to tie the score before Oxnard plated three runs in the ninth inning. In the nightcap, VC fell behind big before a six-run sixth inning closed the gap to a single run before OC scored twice in the final frame of the seven-inning contest.
