Ventura Erases 14-Run Deficit in Wild 20-16 Win at West LA
The Ventura College baseball team exploded for 18 runs over the final three innings, capping a remarkable rally with an eight-run ninth to defeat West Los Angeles 20-16 in a nonconference slugfest Tuesday afternoon in Culver City. Grant Rodriguez led the way offensively for the Pirates with three hits, including a pair of triples, five runs batted in and four runs scored. Nate Lajole recorded three hits with three RBI while scoring twice in the wild victory.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 17 | 5 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 19 | 6 |
The Ventura College baseball team exploded for 18 runs over the final three innings, capping a remarkable rally with an eight-run ninth to defeat West Los Angeles 20-16 in a non-conference slugfest Tuesday afternoon in Culver City. Grant Rodriguez led the way offensively for the Pirates with three hits, including a pair of triples, five runs batted in and four runs scored. Nate Lajole recorded three hits with three RBI while scoring twice in the wild victory.
Trailing 16-2 after six innings, the Pirates appeared buried under a barrage of Wildcat offense. Instead, Ventura's lineup came alive in the seventh, stringing together quality at-bats in a seven-run frame to slice the deficit to 16-9. The Pirates added three more runs in the eighth to pull within 16-12, then sent 8 runs across in the ninth to complete one of their most dramatic comebacks of the season.
VC finished with 20 runs on 17 hits, taking full advantage of nine walks and six West LA errors. By contrast, West LA produced 16 runs on 19 hits and built what looked like an insurmountable cushion with a six-run third inning, another six-run outburst in the fifth and four more runs in the sixth.
Rodriguez anchored the Pirates' offense, going 3-for-6 with five RBIs and four runs scored. Rodriguez was in the middle of Ventura's biggest rallies, driving in runs during the seventh-inning surge and helping keep innings alive as the Pirates chipped away. Lajole added another key bat in the comeback effort with a 3-for-6 day, scoring twice and knocking in three runs as Ventura's heart of the order repeatedly came through with runners aboard.
Ventura cycled through five pitchers — Johnny Levelis, Jacob Roa, Michael Tuttle, Jacob Cunningham and Jaden Valdez — to navigate the high-scoring afternoon. After West LA's big middle innings, the staff settled in just enough to post zeros over the final three frames, giving the offense room to work. Valdez was credited with the victory after closing down West LA's lineup while Ventura completed the late surge.
Ventura returns home on Thursday Mar. 19 to host Los Angeles Mission College. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm at Pirate Park.