Pirate Baseball Drops Contest in Santa Maria

The Pirate baseball team's streak of 20 scoreless innings by the pitching staff came to a quick end Friday as VC dropped a 9-2 decision to Allan Hancock in Santa Maria. Ventura yielded two runs each in the first two innings in the setback. Mason Reid led VC (11-16, 6-8) at the plate with three hits, including a pair of doubles, with one run scored and one run batted in. Reiss Calvin also had three hits with a run scored on the day.

AHC scored twice in the bottom of the first, and again in the second to take the early 4-0 lead. 

Ventura narrowed the gap in he top of the fourth. Reid led off the inning with a double. One out later, Andrew Savage hit an RBI single to make it 4-1.

The Bulldogs broke the game open in the bottom half of the frame, however, with four more runs to hold an 8-1 margin. They also added another score in the sixth inning.

VC added another run in the top of the eighth. Calvin led off with a single, and one out later, stole second. Reid followed with an RBI double to set the final 9-2 score.

The normally-reliable Cooper Smith had a rough outing on the mound, giving up eight runs through 3.2 innings to take the loss. Ryan Sweeney gave up one run over two complete while Aiden Walker and Nolan Moreau each tossed a scoreless frame.

Ventura returns home on Saturday April 1 to close the series with Hancock. First pitch is slated for 1:00 pm at Pirate Park.