Pirates Look to Preserve Perfect Home Record vs Bucs

Brandon Doehne throws a pitch at LA Valley College July 3, 2022. Photo by Maddy Whiting

Don't Look Now. . .

Coming off a 9-5 home win Saturday versus the Inland Valley Pirates, Ventura County has now won 9 of their last 10 games, moving their record to (12-11-1) (10-3 Best of the West). Sunday, they are back at home again at Los Angeles Valley College in preparation for the Inland Valley Bucs (4-10-1). This will be the third matchup this season between the two, with both teams winning one game each.

Chop Wood, Carry Water

The Pirates have found their groove on offense averaging nearly runs a game within an 11 game span. In particular, the top of the Pirates lineup has done an amazing job of getting on base, setting the tone for batters to come. The Camacho twins bat one and two in the lineup and are coming off a combined 5-hit performance. Their ability to get on base is absurd but what is also impressive is that they both lead the team in batting average with Ryan at .425 and Jovan boasting a .352. They are also first and third on the team in OBP with Ryan having a .500 OBP while his brother Jovan is not too far behind with a .465 OBP. The bats are hot and ready, scoring a combined 73 runs in the past 11 games for an average of 6.7 runs per game. The Pirates have also stolen 47 bases on the season showing their aggressiveness on the base paths.

Pirates pitchers have done a good job of stepping up, shutting the door on teams in the later innings. The bullpen, led by LHP Josh Yosfan continues to be lights out with a 0.53 ERA and 4 saves in 17 innings of work. However, other pitchers such as John Paul Claire and Daniel Parra have stepped onto the scene allowing only 1 earned run in a combined 9 ⅔ innings pitched since June 25. Look for these top arms to come out of the bullpen if needed.

Doehne returns to the mound

RHP Brandon Doehne will get the start for the Pirates on Sunday Afternoon against the Bucs. Doehne will look to build off of a gem last Sunday against the Long Beach Legends, where he pitched 6 scoreless innings in a win and walked no batters. This season, Doehne has pitched 25 ⅓ innings, striking out 21 batters with only 6 walks. Doehne currently has an ERA of 4.26 heading into Sunday’s game.

League games Record . . .

At home: 5-0

On road: 5-3

Pirates Record When Leading After. . .

Sixth inning: 10-1

7th inning: 12-1

8th inning: 12-1