2024 Ventura College Baseball Team News
The Ventura College Athletic Department claimed its 14th Top-13 finish in 19 years, placing 13th in California in the 2023-24 all-sports National Association of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) Cup standings. Pirate Athletics totaled 106 points overall, besting its 105.5 points earned in 2022-23 that placed 12th. Ventura was also 17th for the second straight year in the Daktronics Cup Standings with two-years schools from California, Oregon and Washington.
The Ventura College Athletic Department is proud to announce the transfer of 71 student athletes to four-year schools following their time with the Pirates. 48 of those transfers plan to continue their sport with 34 earning athletic scholarships. The VC class of 2024 will transfer to 48 different schools in 19 different states across the country. Additionally, 17 of the Pirate alumni have earned academic scholarships at their new schools.
The Ventura College baseball team placed four players on the first team All-Western State Conference list in voting by the North Division coaches following the 2024 season. First baseman Haiden Letzing led the contingent with a Gold Glove Award in addition to his first team all-conference recognition. Other Pirates named first team All-WSC included designated hitter Peter Dufau, outfielder Bryce Elias and starting pitcher Luca Staiano.
The Pirate baseball team ended its 2024 campaign Saturday afternoon with a 14-2 setback at Compton College. Evan DeVally was 2-2 at the plate with a run batted in and Aaron McLeod also recorded a pair of hits. Peter Dufau had an RBI while David King and Bryce Elias each scored runs in the season finale.
The Pirate baseball team rallied in the top of the ninth inning to post a 6-3 victory at Los Angeles Pierce College Friday in Woodland Hills. Peter Dufau hit a solo home run in VC's final at-bat to begin the three-run frame for the margin of victory. Mason Reid had a two-RBI triple and David King belted out three hits, including a double, with one run batted in. Anthony Cuevas scattered seven hits over six innings on the mound, giving up one run in his quality start for Ventura (19-18, 11-13).
The VC baseball team kept its post-season hopes alive Thursday with a 7-3 victory over Hancock in Santa Maria. Pirate ace Luca Staiano scattered four hits and yielded two runs while striking out four over seven complete innings of work. Bryce Elias had a solo home run among his three hits and he scored three runs to lead the offense and Mason Reid had three hits and a run batted in for the Pirates (18-18, 10-13).
The VC baseball team dropped a 7-4 decision at Santa Barbara on Saturday afternoon. Haiden Letzing had three hits and scored a run to lead the effort for the Pirates (17-18, 7-11) while Jacob Tostado also recorded a hit and scored a run.
The VC baseball team dropped an 11-9 decision to visiting Oxnard in their final game of the season at Pirate Park on Friday. David King had a pair of hits and three runs batted in while Evan DeVally hit a single and a double with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Mason Reid scored three runs for the Pirates (17-17, 9-12) as their post-season hopes took a hit against the Condors.
The VC baseball team traveled to San Luis Obispo Thursday and came home with a pair of victories over Cuesta. VC defeated the Cougars 7-6 in the continuation of a suspended game from March 4, needing just one inning and Aaron McLeod beating out a possible double-play ball to score Bryce Elias for the win. In the regularly scheduled game, Peter Dufau hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh to provide the game-winning scores for the 8-7 triumph.
Pirate starting pitcher Luca Staiano had a great outing Tuesday, limiting Moorpark to three hits and two runs, one earned, through seven innings of work at Pirate Park. The VC offense could not pick up the tab, however, recording just three hits in Ventura's 5-1 setback against the Raiders. Yuki Kawashima had a pair of hits, including a double and scored the only run of the game for the Pirates (15-16, 7-11).
The Pirate baseball team used a strong performance by their middle relievers and posted a seven-spot in the sixth inning to roll past Los Angeles Pierce 15-11 Friday at Pirate Park. Ben Drumheller, one of five relivers to not allow a run, earned the victory on the mound with 1.2 perfect innings of work. Offensively, Peter Dufau, Mason Reid and Jacob Tostado all had a pair of hits with two runs batted in and Bryce Elias knocked in three runs in the victory for Ventura (15-15, 7-10).
The Pirate baseball team mounted a tqo-out rally in the top of the ninth inning Thursday at Los Angeles Pierce, but fell one run short with the game-tying run in scoring position in their 7-6 loss to the Brahmas. Peter Dufau had three hits, including an RBI double in the final frame, to lead Ventura while Dylan Jackson had a pair of hits with a run scored and one run batted in. Anthony Cuevas gave VC a chance with 4.1 innings of scoreless relief on the mound.
The VC baseball team had an easy time with Los Angeles Pierce Tuesday at Pirate Park, defeating the Brahmas 12-1. Luca Staiano gave up one unearned run through six complete innings on the mound to pick up the win while Harrison Cordeiro and Jathan Magana combined for three frames of shutout ball. Jacob Tostado had two hits, including a double, with three runs batted in and David King knocked in a pair of runs for the Pirates (14-14, 6-9).
The VC baseball team climbed out of a 7-0 hole in the middle of the sixth to send their game against Hancock to extra innings, only to fall 9-7 to the Bulldogs at Pirate park Saturday. Jacob Tostado had a pair of hits and two runs batted in while Haiden Letzing scored twice on two hits and a walk for Ventura (13-14, 5-9). Anthony Cuevas, Domingo Gaxiola and Jaden Valdez combined for 4.2 innings of scoreless relief to give the Pirates a chance in the end.
The Pirate baseball team raced to a 4-0 advantage through four innings Thursday at Pirate Park before falling to Hancock 6-5 in Western State Conference action. Dylan Jackson had an RBI double and Yuki Kawashima recorded two hits, including a triple, and scored twice to lead Ventura (13-13, 5-8). Harrison Cordeiro pitched three innings of scoreless relief to give VC a chance down the stretch.
The VC baseball team broke out with a 15-hit, 11-run effort Tuesday, defeating Allan Hancock 11-5 in Santa Maria. Dylan Jackson, David King and Bryce Elias all had three hits each for Ventura (13-12, 5-7) while Jacob Tostado and Haiden Letzing each had two. Luca Staiano pitched a strong six innings, giving up two runs on five hits to pick up his third victory of the season.
