Baseball hosted the Ventura Pirates for their fourth and final meeting of the season, while also wrapping up their suspended game from March 4. The suspended game was completed from the point of interruption. The contest was called for darkness after the 12th inning, with the teams tied at 6-6. When the contest resumed, Cuesta managed a two-out single in the 13th inning, but the Pirates, who were still the official home team and got the last shot at the win. A one-out Double by Bryce Elias put them in scoring position, and he moved to 3rd, when the Cougars could not get him on a Fielder's Choice. The game ended on another infield grounder that allowed Elias to score. Cuesta tried to get out of the inning with a double play, but the Cougars off target throw on the turn allowed the visiting Bucs to score the game-winner, 7-6.
In the regularly scheduled game, the Pirates built on the momentum and pulled away with a 5-1 lead over the first three innings of the regularly scheduled game. The Cougars roared back and took their first lead of the day, 6-5, on Designated Hitter Anthony Cannavino's RBI-Single in the 5th inning. Both teams went quiet in the 6th, but The Bucs got lucky just before the Stretch. Cuesta Reliever Jackson Howell entered the game to finish the 3rd inning and recorded 13 straight outs, until a two-out error in the 7th put a runner on board for Ventura. Howell walked the next batter, before Ventura's Designated Hitter Peter DeFau connected for a three-run home run to give the Bucs back the lead, 8-6. Cuesta responded by stranding one baserunner in each of the next two innings, before closing the gap in the final frame. Third Baseman Mikey Bell opened the bottom of the 9th inning with his team-leading 9th Home Run of the season to put the Cougars within one run of the Pirates, but despite an error that put Second Baseman Aidan Botti in scoring position as the potential equalizer, Cuesta took its third one-run defeat of the week. The Cougars are now 26-10 overall and have dropped to 3rd place in the Western State Conference with a 14-6 mark against the circuit. They are currently two games behind leader Santa Barbara and a game behind local rival Allan Hancock.
Cuesta's Batsmen are back in action tomorrow, April 19, when they host local rival Allan Hancock with a chance to pull back into title contention. The Bulldogs won two of their first three meetings this year, but if the Cougars can defend their home diamond tomorrow (2:30) they will be tied for second place, one-game behind Santa Barbara, going into the final week (three games) of the regular season.
