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The Ventura County Pirates (17-13-1, 15-5 Best of the West) hosted the Long Beach Legends at Los Angeles Valley College on Sunday, using some late-game power to lead to a narrow victory 7-5.
After fighting a slim deficit through most of the game, the Pirates were able to tie the game in the eighth inning before Robbie Treto connected for a two-run home run– his second of the game (6)– to give the Pirates a late lead that they would not let go of.
“I was hitting the ball pretty well so I felt pretty good out there… I was hitting offspeed because I knew that they weren’t trying to throw a fastball to me, so I’m glad that worked out,” Treto said.
The Pirates finished their week with a record of 3-2, and are now tied for first place with the Inland Valley Pirates in the Best of the West standings.
After a tough defeat at the hands of the East LA Dodgers the game prior, the Pirates were looking to bounce back to their winning ways. The Pirates sent 6’4” right hander BrandonDoehne to make his sixth start of the season, and he was able to get out of situations with runners in scoring position within the first two innings. In his start, Doehne pitched 3.2 IP, giving up 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, and 5 K while tossing 82 pitches.
The Pirates struggled to get things going offensively out of the gate, as they could only connect for one base hit in the first five innings. Despite the offensive struggles, the Pirates were still able to make things interesting, by scoring twice in the fourth inning via a walk and a wild pitch, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
The Pirates relied on reliever Kellan Montgomery to limit the damage, and he was able to keep the game close. Despite allowing two runs, Montgomery did not walk a batter and struck out four in his 3.1 innings of work.
The Pirates then called on right-hander Xavier Stoker (W, 2-0) to make his sixth appearance of the season and keep the score tied at 4. Stoker relied on his defense to help speed up the eighth inning, as a double play helped Stoker get a huge strikeout to retire the side.
The Pirates wasted no time picking up the slack in the bottom of the eighth inning. Entering with just two hits on the game, the Pirates used two extra base hits to tie the game with nobody out. With the go-ahead run on base, Robbie Treto stepped up again, and went deep for his second home run of the game– his sixth of the season– to help the Pirates take their first lead of the game.
Stoker came back out in the ninth inning to try and secure the victory. After a one-out base hit, Stoker needed just one more pitch to induce a game-ending double play, sealing the deal for the Pirates.
To kick off the final week of their regular season, the Pirates will travel on Tuesday to Cal Poly Pomona to face the Inland Valley Bucs, with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Box Score: https://www.sunsetleaguebaseball.com/game/show/35587688?subseason=818122&referrer=7179312