Ventura Rap Group Provides Sweet Music for Anglin, 7-5

Ventura College baseball Coach Gary Anglin knows that a heavy-set woman with a propensity for song could be lurking out there somewhere, humming a few bars, tuning up her voice.

But Anglin figures the season isn’t over until the fat lady sings. And lately, about the only sound Anglin has been hearing is that of bat meeting ball.

Anglin’s Pirates rapped out another 11 hits Saturday and turned back host Moorpark, 7-5, to stay alive--if only barely--in the Western State Conference baseball race.

The top six teams in the WSC qualify for the conference’s Shaughnessy playoffs, and Ventura (23-12 overall, 8-9 in conference play) continues to bounce back and forth between sixth and seventh place.

“Statistically, we’re still in it. We’re on the bubble,” said Anglin, whose team has three games remaining--all against teams ahead of Ventura in the standings. “We’ve said since Day 1 that, in our conference, a 9-11 record may get you to the sixth slot.”

Ventura followed its modus operandi against Moorpark (13-22, 5-12): The Pirates went out strongly early, tapered off in the middle innings, then struggled to hang on.

Ventura took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when designated-hitter Vince Reynoso doubled home two unearned runs off Moorpark pitcher Jason Mitchell (3-6).

The Pirates added two more runs in the second. Tim Cornish singled, Kwinn Knight walked and Chris Marsden got on to load the bases when Mitchell misplayed his bunt. One out later, Anglin called for a squeeze but the hitter, Dan Madsen, failed to make contact.

Cornish, halfway down the line, retreated to third, where Knight was already residing. Knight was tagged out, but Madsen followed with a two-run single down the left-field line for a 4-0 Ventura lead.

Sam Arroyo (5-3) set the Raiders down without incident until the fourth when Jeff Sommer, the leading hitter in the WSC, singled and scored on a double by Terry Cruz. Kenny Hood followed with a run-scoring double to cut Ventura’s lead in half.

Ventura added two runs in the seventh on an RBI single by Chris Bargsten and a sacrifice fly by Carlos Rios, then got a run-scoring single in the eighth by Darrell McMillin to take a 7-2 lead.

But with a team earned-run average of more than 5.00, no lead is safe for Ventura.

Moorpark got to Arroyo again in the eighth when Billy Hall doubled and Chris Intelkoffer singled. Sommer followed with an RBI single and Del Marine had an RBI double to right that chased Arroyo. Harvey Jones came on and Cruz knocked in a run with a ground out to cut Ventura’s lead to 7-5.

Jones retired the first two batters in the ninth, then walked Hall on five pitches. After Intelkoffer banged a bad-hop single into left field, Jones hit Chris Chandler to load the bases and bring on Andy Moffat from the bullpen. Moffat earned his third save by getting Will Egan on a ground ball.