Ventura Defeats Moorpark With an Eye Toward Pierce

Ventura College baseball Coach Gary Anglin is understandably reluctant to discuss his club’s regular-season finale against Pierce in what could be a showdown for the Western State Conference championship.

The meeting is some two weeks away and Ventura has two WSC games to play before its April 25 date at Pierce.

But after the Pirates beat visiting Moorpark, 8-5, Thursday, even Anglin could not ignore what the Pirate players voiced loudly with their bats, gloves and arms.

“They have it in their minds that they would like it to come down to the last day,” Anglin said of the Pirates (20-8, 13-4 in conference play), who moved into a first-place tie with Pierce (21-6, 13-4 in WSC play), an 8-2 loser to host Bakersfield.

To achieve its goal, Ventura will need more offensive performances like the one against Moorpark that featured a four-run first inning and a three-hit game from sophomore Chris Bargsten.

Bargsten, an outfielder from Ventura High, had a run-scoring single in the first and a two-run homer in the second. He finished three for three with a walk, three runs batted in and three runs.

Bargsten was joined in an eight-hit attack by David Frazier (triple and double), Carlos Rios (two singles), Tim Cornish (triple and an RBI) and Mitch King (two runs).

Combined with the pitching of Andy Moffat (6-1) and Pete Alamillo (fifth save), the Ventura offense proved more than enough to hold off Moorpark (14-13, 8-9), despite four hits and two stolen bases by Raider catcher Del Marine.

“They hit the ball and took us out of the game,” said Moorpark Coach Ken Wagner, whose team played its sixth game in eight days. “It’s tough to play catch-up.”

Trailing, 8-2, through seven innings, Moorpark made it interesting with a three-run eighth that included a two-out, two-run single by former Pirate Tom Lunsford.

Lunsford also hit a solo homer in the seventh, his seventh home run of the season and his third in as many games. Marine, who hit a solo homer in the first, was denied a five-for-five performance when he grounded into a double play in the ninth.

Moffat came back after pitching 1 1/3 innings in a win over Canyons on Wednesday and yielded 10 hits and five runs in 7 2/3 innings. He had eight strikeouts and two walks.