Pirates Cut Down Foresters 4-3

SANTA BARBARA – The Ventura County Pirates attacked the Santa Barbara starter early and held on to defeat the Santa Barbara Foresters by the narrowest of margins. The Pirates now hold a 2-2 record against the Foresters in their history, part of a 16-9 lifetime record against opponents from the California Collegiate League.

Jason Whaley started things off for the Pirates, striking out five Foresters and allowing just two earned runs in four innings pitched. The win improves his 2019 summer record to 2-1.

Kyle Soberano extended his hitting streak to a ninth game, driving home Hunter Konecny Peña with an RBI double in a three-run top of the third inning. Despite it being Soberano’s only hit in four at bats on Friday, he still has a whopping .562 batting average through 17 games.

Deandrey Carter preserved the Pirates bullpen for the upcoming weekend by pitching a 5-inning save, retiring the first nine batters he faced and notching six strikeouts along the way.

Box score on the Sunset Baseball League website

With three games remaining in June – a Saturday doubleheader at the SoCal Shepherds and a Sunday matinee at the South Bay Sliders – the Pirates have a chance to win a club record 20 games in one month.

Saturday’s games at the Shepherds can be found on the Southern California FCA Baseball Facebook page