Pirates' Bats Crush Sliders

With a seventh inning onslaught the Ventura County Pirates (7-3, 1-3 Sunset Baseball League) defeated the South Bay Sliders 11-5 in a home game at Pote Field in Griffith park Wednesday.

The win demonstrated that the Pirates can score in the middle innings. Ventura County has done most of its damage early in games this year.

Though the game was against an SBL opponent, it was designated as a non-league game because Pote Field is not the typical home field of the Pirates.

Ventura County left fielder Jimmy Cramer didn’t mind the change in venue. He was four-for-four with two runs and an RBI. He reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances.

Cramer batted sixth and highlighted the bottom of the order which provided most of the production. Third baseman Hunter Konecny-Pena batted ninth and gave the pirates a 5-0 lead with a three-RBI triple in the third inning.

Konecny-Pena added a single and a run in the seventh after the Sliders cut the deficit to 7-5 in the top of the inning. The Pirates sent nine men to the plate and scored four runs on six hits in the bottom of the frame resulting in the 11-5 final score.

Sebastian Zepeda entered in the fourth inning and earned the win in two innings of work. He allowed one run on one hit with three strikeouts and a walk.

The Pirates return to LA Valley College to face the Solana Beach Redbirds in a doubleheader 11 a.m. Saturday.