VC second baseman Reiss Calvin has had a solid start to his career for the Pirates. That start was accentuated Thursday when he hit for the cycle with six runs batted in leading Ventura to an 11-5 victory over Oxnard at Pirate Park. Calvin hit a two-run home run in the first, a two-RBI double in the fifth, a single in the seventh, and a two-RBI triple in the eighth for the rare baseball feat. Julien Monks had three hits, including a double, with two RBI in a supporting role for Ventura (7-11, 2-3).
JR Godinez led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk. Then Calvin followed with his two-run shot over the fence in right field for the early 2-0 Pirate lead.
VC yielded a pair of unearned runs in the third inning, the Oxnard took the lead with two more scores in the top of the fifth.
The Pirates had an answer in the bottom half of the frame, however, plating five runs, all after two outs in the inning. Casey Turturici reached base on an error with one out, then moved to second base on a wild pitch that also resulted in a strikeout for the second out. Andrew Savage was hit by a pitch, then both runners moved ahead 90 feet on another wild pitch. Monks followed with a two-run double to tie the score at 4-4. Nick Schnopp walked and KJ Moo-Young reached first on an error to load the bases. Godinez walked in a run, then Calvin followed with a two-RBI double for a 7-4 Ventura lead.
The Condors got one run back in the top of the sixth, but VC countered with a score in the bottom of the seventh. Moo-Young led off the inning with a walk, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Godinez. Calvin singles to move Moo-Young to third and John Oleson followed with an RBI single.
Ventura added three insurance runs in the eight inning. Savage doubled in the lead-off spot, and Schnopp singles one batter later. VC then executed the double-steal with Schnopp taking second and moving t third on an error, and Savage stole home on the play. After the second out of the inning, Godinez walked and Calvin cleared the bases with a two-run triple to complete his cycle and make the final score 11-5.
Hunter Jones started the game on the hill for VC, pitching 4.2 innings, giving up four runs, two earned. Livio Bundi completed the fifth, and pitched the first out of the sixth to pick up the win, and Jonah Schaller and Timmy Adams each retired a batter to complete the sixth. Sebastian Garcia pitched 2.1 scoreless innings and Robby Keister closed the door on the Condors, retiring the final two batters, each with a strikeout.
Oleson was 3-6 in the game with an RBI and Savage had a pair of hits and scored two runs. Schnopp and Young each scored twice in the game.
The Pirates complete the three-game set with Oxnard on the road Saturday March 5. First pitch is slated for 1:00 pm.