Dylan Francis tossed six shutout innings on Saturday to lead Ventura to an 8-2 baseball win over visiting SBCC.
Leadoff hitter Chris McKee went 3-5 with two runs for the Pirates (15-9, 5-4), who moved into a second-place tie with the Vaqueros (14-11, 5-4) in the crowded WSC North race.
Ventura took a 3-0 lead in the fifth, then Vaqueros pulled within one, 3-2, on sacrifice flies by Wesley Ghan-Gibson and Blake Ogburn in the seventh.
The Pirates outhit the Vaqueros 10-5. Santa Barbara was playing its third game in three days after a rain makeup on Friday.
Ventura broke the game open with five runs in the eighth and four were unearned. They loaded the bases on a walk, an error and a walk and then Kaden Betsch delivered a two-run single. Two more runs scored on a passed ball and a wild pitch. Rodolfo Aguilar capped the rally with a two-out, run-scoring single.
The Vaqueros will host Ventura on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
