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VALLEY GLEN, CA - Another day, another 17 hits for the Ventura County Pirates against the SoCal Shepherds. The Pirates' bats remained hot and their pitching held the opposition to just three runs on three hits.
Kyle Soberano started off the offensive onslaught with a bunt single on the first pitch thrown by the Shepherds. He then stole second base, and came home on Johnny Pacheco's RBI single.
The Pirates then exploded in the fourth, batting around the order and scoring six runs. The floodgates opened after Andrew Tovar drew a walk on seven pitches, followed by five consecutive singles by Steven Gonzalez, Trenton Pallas, David Reyna, Kyle Soberano, and Grant Schoen. Every one of them would score in the inning, capped by Darren Taylor's 2 RBI double and Jacob Ortega's sacrifice fly.
Johnny Pacheco and Ian McIntyre later hit back-to-back doubles in the seventh and would score in the inning, and to put an exclamation point on the day, Jacob Ortega belted his first home run of the summer, scoring the Pirates' eleventh and twelfth runs. In all, every one of the Pirates' starting batters scored in the game, with Soberano, Pacheco, McIntyre, and Reyna each crossing the plate twice.
Starting pitcher Aren Alvarez threw a six-inning quality start, allowing just one run on two hits to earn the win. Closer Josh Howitt threw two lights-out innings, striking out four Shepherds batters in the eighth and ninth innings.
The Pirates hit the road Thursday for one more CCL matchup against the Santa Barbara Foresters at 6pm.
