The Moorpark Raiders defeated the Ventura Pirates 7-3 behind an explosive offense that was motivated coming off a loss in their prior matchup.
The game began perfectly for the Raiders. After keeping the Pirates scoreless in the first half of the inning, the Raiders piled up five runs in the bottom half.
Freshman center fielder Zach Nissim started the inning with a leadoff single. Then, sophomore shortstop Matt Whitney got on base via a walk. With runners on first and second base, sophomore designated hitter James Terrazas hit a ground rule double that scored Nissim.
Following Terrazas was freshman right fielder Wyatt Walerinta, who grounded out to shortstop. Nevertheless, Walerinta brought in Whitney to make it a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore left fielder Jayce Foster helped Moorpark increase their lead with a bang. Foster hit a two-run home run to increase the lead to 4-0.
Freshman first baseman Alex Vega stepped up to the plate after Foster. Vega’s at-bat ended with a home run as well.
The Raiders ended the first inning leading 5-0 following back-to-back home runs from Foster and Vega.
A big lead is something starting pitcher Cameron Weitz greatly appreciated.
“It was huge that our offense did that,” Weitz said. “It definitely gives a little cushion room to feel a little bit more comfortable. I could trust my defense more.”
Weitz made sure he wasn’t going to let the offense’s work go to waste. He pitched 7.0 innings while only allowing one earned run on seven hits and four strikeouts.
Weitz appreciated the cushion his offense gave him. The feeling was mutual from Vega who believed the pitching staff did a great job in their victory against Ventura.
“Good job to Cameron Weitz who held in there for seven [innings] and then the staff coming in and closing it,” Vega said. “So, all around it was a good win.”
Moorpark scored two more runs throughout the game thanks to RBIs from Terrazas and sophomore catcher Michael Teobaldi. The Pirates were able to score a pair of runs late in the game to cut the lead to 7-3 but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback.
The Raiders’ offense in the early innings of the game proved too much for the Pirates to overcome.
This was a great team win all around as the Raiders had stellar moments throughout the game on both offense and defense.
One of the players who had a great all-around game was Nissim. He went 2-for-5 while scoring a run. Nissim also had a stellar catch out in deep center field that helped stop a runner from coming in to score.
“We played as a team and hit together,” Nissim said. “Today was textbook for us.”
This was a game the Raiders definitely wanted to win due to their rivalry with the Pirates. The team was motivated coming off a loss to Ventura in their prior game.
“No one likes losing,” Foster said. “If we can get another chance at somebody we’re gonna put the barrel down and go for it.”
