Oxnard Scores 11 in 6th Inning to Whip Ventura, 17-13

In baseball parlance, it is known as the big inning.

It usually begins innocuously enough with a walk or a single, and progresses to defensive miscues, extra-base hits and a collapse by the team in the field.

Ventura College baseball Coach Gary Anglin did everything within his power to avoid a big inning Saturday when his team played host to Oxnard in a Western State Conference game.

Anglin made three pitching changes, he exhorted his team, and he would have put himself in the game if able.

But in the end, all Anglin could do was watch in frustration as Oxnard sent 15 batters to the plate in the sixth inning, scored 11 runs and came from behind to win, 17-13, and remain in a third-place WSC tie with Pierce at 9-6.

It goes without saying that batters on both teams were knocking the stuffing out of the ball. There were 32 hits--nine for extra bases--and Oxnard (17-16 overall) benefited from nine walks.

Yet it didn’t look good for the Condors after five innings. After three early lead changes, Ventura (21-11, 6-8) broke through with five runs in the fourth to take a 9-5 lead. But it was less than half of what Oxnard was about to do to Ventura.

Ventura’s Andy Moffat had seemingly weathered a rocky start when he retired Oxnard without a run in the fourth and fifth. But he gave up a single and walked the next two batters to load the bases in the sixth.

Moffat was relieved by Eric Raba, who was greeted by Tim Johnson’s two-run double.

Raba then walked the next two batters to force in a run, and Anglin yanked him in favor of Tony Espinoza.

But Espinoza wasn’t the answer either. He faced five batters without recording an out, walking two of them with the bases loaded, and allowing a two-run double by Brian Lovelace (two for five, two doubles) and a two-run single by Carlos Cardenas.

Harvey Jones, the fourth pitcher in the inning, came on and allowed a two-run single by Pat Avila. Finally, after 12 consecutive batters had either walked or hit safely, Jones retired the final two hitters of the inning.

Ventura rallied briefly, and Chris Bargsten’s two-run homer in the ninth cut Oxnard’s lead to 17-13, but Juan Hernandez came on in relief of setup man Jamie Scyphers and recorded the final three outs.

Jeremy Herider and Johnson (two doubles) each had three hits for Oxnard, and Chris Gaston, who played at Ventura last year, added two hits, four runs batted in and his fourth home run of the season.

Mitch King had four hits, three doubles and two RBIs for Ventura, and teammates Bargsten and Darrell McMillin each had three hits.