The Pirates' men's water polo team raced out to an early 5-0 advantage and never looked back, scoring 19 of the first 20 goals in their 22-3 win at Crafton Hills Wednesday in Yucaipa. Owen Patterson led 11 VC scorers with four goals while Evan Augusta scored three times. Luigi Travi, Caleb Graffious, Erik Schwartz and Jessie Zepeda all found the inside of the cage twice in the victory.
Augusta got the Pirates (4-5) on the board, then followed Schwartz's goal with another score for a 3-0 lead barely a minute into play. Schwartz and Boaz Biglin put shots into the goal for a 5-0 margin before the Roadrunners scored with 5:29 left in the first quarter. Brennan Font converted a shot before Travi scored twice in a row for a 7-1 Ventura lead at the end of the opening period.
Ventura led 11-1 at halftime and 17-1 at the end of the third period in the runaway win.
Biglin and Graffious each pulled in four steals in the game and Augusta recorded a pair of thefts. Travi handed out three assists while Michael Soho, Font and Jose Lopez all dropped two dimes each.
VC will open Western State Conference play on Wednesday Oct. 2 at Santa Monica.