COLLEGE BASEBALL : Six Moorpark Pitchers Give Up 21 Hits as Rancho Santiago Wins Tournament

From Moorpark College’s point of view, only one good thing emerged Wednesday from a baseball game with Rancho Santiago.

The Raiders got a chance to see six pitchers go against the third-ranked team in Southern California.

Unfortunately for Moorpark, they all got shelled.

For the third straight time in the West Los Angeles College tournament, Rancho Santiago won by a lopsided score, pounding out 21 hits in an 18-2 romp over Moorpark at USC’s Dedeaux Field.

It gave Rancho Santiago the tournament title in the four-team, round-robin event. The Dons opened the tournament with wins over Santa Barbara, 16-3, and Ventura, 12-2, and increased their record to 14-4 by outscoring three tournament opponents, 46-7.

The loss dropped Moorpark to 8-8.

The Dons, who had six doubles, a triple and a home run, scored in every inning except the second against Moorpark. The first four spots in the batting order combined to scored 13 runs.

First baseman Brent Reese was 2 for 4 with four runs batted in, and second baseman Steve Scarsona was 3 for 4 with four runs scored for Rancho Santiago, which won the tournament in 1984 and finished second last year.

“I couldn’t tell if Moorpark’s pitching was off or if we just hit the ball well,” Rancho Santiago Coach Don Sneddon said. “We were just fortunate to do well.”

The Dons started their attack in the first inning with four runs on four hits off Moorpark starter Bob Ayrault, who needed 20 minutes to retire the side.

In the third inning, designated-hitter Rueben Gonzalez hit his 18th career homer, a towering two-run shot over the 375-foot sign, giving the Dons a 6-0 lead. Gonzalez, a sophomore who broke Ed Amelung’s school home run record last week, wound up with two homers and 12 RBIs in the tournament.

Moorpark left-hander Mark Quinn followed Ayrault to the mound and allowed a pair of runs in two innings. After that, Raider Coach Ron Stillwell gave an inning each to pitchers John Alfred, Anthony Mohr, Mike Fairly, and John Gleason.

While Moorpark pitchers struggled, Rancho Santiago right-hander Chris Shiflett allowed only two hits in five scoreless innings. He struck out seven without walking a batter and had an 11-0 lead when he left the game.

In the sixth inning, right fielder Joey Shoen got the Raiders on the scoreboard with a two-run double off reliever Bob Brucato, but Moorpark managed only two hits the rest of the game.