Ventura County Pirates Look To Advance to Championship Series

Pirates center fielder Daniel Laughery swings against the SoCal Shepherds at Cal Poly Pomona July 27, 2022. Photo by Izzy De Souza

The Ventura County Pirates come into Thursday’s contest vs. the Inland Valley Pirates with a 4-1 win vs. the Socal Shepherds to secure an important win in their first playoff game. With a win, Ventura County will head to the Championship Series this weekend for a shot at the Best of the West title. Ventura County came into the playoffs as the 1 seed in the Best of the West and are looking to secure their second league title since 2019. This season, Ventura County has gone 3-1 against Inland Valley, winning their last 3 games against Inland Valley.

Outstanding Pirates

With the regular season finished, the Ventura County Pirates have some of the league’s most outstanding players on their roster. On the mound, Dylan Goodrich leads the Best of the West in wins with 5 this season. Alex Abbott and Deandre Carter are second and third with 4 wins each in the Best of the West. The Camacho twins have also been outstanding for the Pirates all year long, with Ryan Camacho hitting .383 with 15 RBI and Jovan Camacho hitting .340 with 18 RBI this year. Pitcher Deandre Carter has also been an ace all summer long, posting a 2.41 ERA in 33 ½ innings pitched with 20 strikeouts.

Ventura County Pirates playoff win

The Ventura County Pirates won 4-1 vs. the Socal Shepherds after trailing heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. Daniel Laughery came up huge for Ventura County, tying the game in the 5th with an RBI hit. Laughery then gave Ventura County the lead in the 6th, an inning in which the Pirates added three runs. Quint Landis, Laugherty, and Andrew Tovar each had multiple hits for Ventura County. Laugherty also had three RBI in the game. Dylan Goodrich and Kellan Montgomery pitched shutout innings from the 6th through the remainder of the game to secure the victory for Ventura County. Montgomery had one strikeout in 2 innings and Goodrich had 3 in 2 innings and got the win for the Pirates.

Potential Second Game Matchups

Ventura County will face the Sentinels or the Shepherds in a second game should they fall to Inland Valley in the first game at 3pm. This season, Ventura County has gone 5-1 against the Shepherds. Ventura County has gone 2-2 against the Arroyo Seco Sentinels and lost the previous two matchups against them, making them one of the tougher opponents for Ventura County this season.

VC Pirates Record When Leading After…

Ventura County Has an 18-1 record when leading after 6 innings, a 21-2 record when leading after the 7th inning, and a 21-1 record when leading after the 8th inning. The Pirates also have a 2-11 record when trailing after the 6th inning, a 1-11 record when trailing after the 7th inning, and an 0-13 record when trailing after the 8th inning. When tied after the 9th inning, Ventura County have an 0-0-1 record