Rancho Santiago Thwarts Ventura’s Upset Bid, 10-6 : Junior college baseball: Pirates rally before falling in Channel Coast championship game to No. 2 team in state.

Riding the momentum of a modest four-game winning streak, Ventura College went into the championship game of the Channel Coast baseball tournament Friday against Rancho Santiago looking for an upset that would put it above .500 for the first time in more than a month.

Alas, the Pirates will have to wait for another opportunity after falling to Rancho Santiago, 10-6, at Ventura.

Rancho Santiago (23-5), ranked No. 2 in the state behind Sacramento City College and No. 1 in Southern California, jumped to a 9-1 lead after three innings then held on as the Pirates (13-14) rallied in the late innings.

“They got big, strong kids. They take powerful swings,” Ventura Coach Gary Anglin said. “They also have good pitching.”

The Dons got a solid performance from one of their starters for the second consecutive game and collected 14 hits against six Ventura pitchers.

Right-hander Ethan Wychoff (1-0) worked the first four innings, limiting Ventura to three hits and two runs. Teammate Jason Dietrich had a no-hitter for 8 2/3 innings Thursday in a 3-1 semifinal victory over Oxnard.

After Ventura pushed across three runs in the top of the eighth on a two-run single by catcher Ryan Denger and a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Jason Isaacs to cut the Rancho Santiago lead to 10-6, reliever Jason Hanmer faced power-hitting third-baseman Ron Tegland with the bases loaded and two out.

But the right-hander quickly squelched the threat by retiring Tegland on a fly out to right.

“I thought their pitching did a good job of handling us early, and I thought our kids did a good job of battling back and got within one blow of tying it,” Anglin said.

Ventura second baseman Mike Muncy went three for four with a home run and extended his hitting streak to 21 games. He also recorded his 24th stolen base, a school single-season record.