Ventura Explodes for 20 Runs in Rout of West LA

The Pirate baseball team piled up runs early and never let up, rolling to a 20-7 win over West Los Angeles Wednesday at Pirate Park behind a pair of five-run frames and a balanced offensive attack that backed a strong start from right-hander Johnny Levelis. Lucas Martinov and Nate Lajole combined for eight RBI on the day to lead VC. 

The Pirates set the tone immediately, pushing across three runs in the first inning to seize a 3-0 lead and put West LA on its heels. Ventura added a single run in the second before breaking the game open in the fourth, when the lineup erupted for five runs to stretch the advantage to 9-0. Another five-run outburst in the fifth made it 14-0.

Martinov finished 3-for-5 with four RBI, two runs scored and a walk, consistently finding the barrel in the middle of the order and Lajole added the biggest swing of the day, launching a home run as part of a four-RBI performance in just two official at-bats. Mario Franco also fueled the attack, going 2-for-4 with four runs scored and a walk as Ventura turned traffic on the bases into crooked numbers in six different innings.

On the mound, Levelis gave Ventura exactly what it needed to capitalize on the early cushion. The right-hander worked 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out four and keeping West LA off the board. With the offense steadily building the lead, reliever Benjamin Bravo entered in the middle frames and earned the win in relief, navigating West LA's late push while the Pirates continued to add insurance.

West LA's best stretch came in the top of the sixth inning, when it strung together quality plate appearances and rallied for five runs to cut the margin to 14-5. Ventura immediately answered in the bottom half with four runs of its own, restoring control at 18-5 and halting any momentum shift. The Pirates tacked on two more runs in the seventh to reach the 20-run mark before West LA scored twice in the ninth to close the scoring at 20-7.

Ventura finished with 20 runs on 15 hits, drawing 10 walks and striking out just three times while taking advantage of four West LA errors. The Pirates left 11 runners on base but still produced multi-run innings in the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.

The Pirates (3-4) get little time to enjoy the triumph as they return to the diamond Thursday Feb. 5 at Rio Hondo.