In the second game of their home-and-home set, the VC baseball team led Riverside 5-4 after seven innings before the Tigers scored three runs in the eight and twice more in the ninth to defeat Ventura 9-5 Friday at Pirate Park. Reiss Calvin was 3-4 at the plate, including a double, with a run scored and a run batted in and Andrew Savage also connected for three hits with an RBI to lead VC (4-7). Wilson Spinks started on the mound, pitching five complete innings and giving up three hits and three runs scored.
RCC scored two runs in the third inning and another in the fifth off of Spinks to take a 3-0 lead.
Hunter Jones came on in relief for Ventura and yielded another score in the seventh.
Trailing 4-0, the Pirates rallied for a five-run frame to take the lead. Caden Stillwell led off with a single and Yuki Kawashima drew a walk one out later. Calvin followed with an RBI single, stealing second after a pitching change. Connor Hickey hit a sacrifice fly to score Kawashima and Aaron McLeod hit an RBI single to score Calvin. Haiden Letzing, Savage and Bryce Elias hit consecutive two-out singles, the latter two knocking in runs, and Ventura led 5-4 after the inning.
The Tigers had a strong response, however, retaking the lead with three runs in the eighth, and plating a pair of insurance runs in the ninth to complete the final margin.
VC returns to action on Saturday Feb. 18 at Glendale. They return home on Tuesday Feb. 21, hosting Moorpark in their Western State Conference opener.