You have to like what the Dodgers did last night, acquiring another bat (Jim Thome) and another arm (Jon Garland) moments before the deadline to acquire players who can be eligible for the postseason roster.

I'm not the biggest Garland fan, but he's adds depth to a starting rotation in need.

Thome is a clever addition. He's been framed for a Matt Stairs-like role, which brings to mind bad memories of last year's NCLS for Dodger fans.

I really like that he gives the Dodgers a traditional designated hitter for the World Series. National League teams seemingly are put at a disadvantage on the road in the World Series, against a team that has had nine starting offensive players all season, as opposed to eight.

If the Dodgers get to the Fall Classic, they will not be at that disadvantage.

(1) Palomar vs. (17) Citrus
Palomar 10, Citrus 2
Palomar 5, Citrus 2 (Palomar advances)

(2) Orange Coast vs. (15) Ventura
Orange Coast 15, Ventura 1
Orange Coast 1, Ventura 0 (10) (OCC Advances)

(3) Cuesta vs. (14) Mt. San Antonio
Cuesta 4, Mt. San Antonio 3
Mt. San Antonio 5, Cuesta 1
Mt. San Antonio 11, Cuesta 6 (Mount SAC advances)

(4) Cypress vs. (13) Allan Hancock
Cypress 10, Allan Hancock 3
Cypress 11, Allan Hancock 3 (Cypress advances)

(5) Santa Ana vs. (12) Southwestern
Santa Ana 6, Southwestern 5
Santa Ana 12, Southwestern 2 (Santa Ana advances)

(6) Long Beach vs. (11) Grossmont
Long Beach 6, Grossmont 4
Long Beach 10, Grossmont 8 (10) (Long Beach advances)

(7) Mt. San Jacinto vs. (10) Cerritos
Mt. San Jacinto 13, Cerritos 7
Cerritos 8, Mt. San Jacinto 7
Mt. San Jacinto 12, Cerritos 11 (Mount Sac Jac advances)

(8) College of the Canyons vs. (9) Saddleback
Saddleback 12, College of the Canyons 10
College of the Canyons 8, Saddleback 6
Saddleback 6, College of the Canyons 4

The Ventura College and Orange Coast College baseball teams are scoreless through regulation in Game 2 of their Best-of-3 second-round Southern California regional playoff series in Costa Mesa.

In perhaps his Ventura swansong, pitcher Garrett Rau has been spectacular, allowing just six hits. He in on the mound in the 10th inning, reminiscent of his high school finale, in which he spun 10 shutout innings in the CIF final at Dodger Stadium for Camarillo High.

Having lost the series opener 15-1 Friday, No. 15 Ventura has to win to force an immediate and decisive Game 3.

The No. 15 Ventura College baseball team opened the scoring in the first game of its Best-of-3 second round series at No. 2 Orange Coast Friday in Costa Mesa.

A.J. Gallardo singled home Garrett Rau in the top of the first to put the visiting Pirates up 1-0.

But the Orange Empire Conference champion responded with 15 unanswered runs to take Game 1, 15-1.

Here's the full story from Orange Coast sports information

Reynaldo Garcia's pinch hit grand slam onto Loma Vista with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning allowed the Ventura College baseball team to tie visiting Chaffey, 11-11, in the single-elimination Southern California first-round game at Ventura College Tuesday afternoon.

The game was tied, 11-11, through 10 and 1/2 innings. Until Derrick Ring's single to left field scored Mike Yingling with the winning run one out in the bottom of the 11th inning.

No. 15 Ventura advances to face No. 2 Orange Coast in a Best-of-3 series this weekend.

The Pirates loaded the bases in the seventh on three straight singles by Joe Ramirez, Tyler Bevin and Brandon Young.

Down 7-3, Chaffey College scored eight times in the top of the seventh inning to take a 11-7 lead.

Nine of the first 10 Panthers of the inning reached base, including Chris Lemus' game-tying two-run double to right field and Willie Holmes two-run single to right center field. The inning chased Pirates starter Garrett Rau.

Tyler Bevan's three-run inside-the-park home run to center field gave the Pirates a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the first.

Chaffey scored one run in each of the first three innings to pull within 4-3. The Panthers had two hits in each of the first three innings.

Collin LaVoie tripled and scored in the fifth and A.J. Gallardo stroked a two-run double in the sxith as Ventura pushed the lead to 7-3.

After going a half century without one, the Ventura College baseball team will host a postseason game for the second straight season Tuesday.

The Pirates (26-16) were seeded No. 15 in the Southern California regional playoffs Sunday and will host No. 18 Chaffey (29-13) in a single-elimination first round game Tuesday afternoon.

A win will advance Ventura to a Best-of-3 series at No. 2 Orange Coast (29-13), the Orange Empire Conference champion, this weekend.

Ventura finished third in the Western State Conference's North Division. Champion Cuesta (29-14) is the No. 3 seed. Runner-up Hancock (22-20) is the No. 13 seed.

Sophomore Garrett Rau broke the school record for hits and finished fourth in the WSC in hitting (.393). Sophomore Blair Walters (5-3, 3.10 ERA) finished third in the WSC in pitching.

Hosting its first playoff game in more than 50 years, Ventura triumphed for the first time in the postseason in collective memory a year ago by beating Rio Hondo, 12-5, in a single-elimination first round game.

It was yet another big game Thursday afternoon for the host Ventura College baseball team, which fell for the 10th straight time to Cuesta, 9-6,

Despite Garrett Rau's bases-clearing triple, Mike Yingling's 3-for-4 performance at the plate and two more hits by Collin LaVoie, Cuesta managed to complete its second straight five-game season sweep over the host Pirates with a 9-6 win Thursday afternoon.

In its 10-game streak over Ventura, Cuesta has snapped six Ventura winning streaks over the past two years, including streaks of eight, seven, seven and five games.

The third-place Pirates, which fell five games behind the first-place Cougars in the Western State Conference's North Division, had won 11 of 12 games entering Wednesday's game.

The WSC North was ranked No. 4 among the state's 12 divisions in this week's RPI report.

Cuesta was ranked No. 5 in Southern California last week, with Hancock and Ventura following at No. 14 and No. 18, respectively.

Third-place Ventura plays another big game against second-place Hancock Saturday afternoon at home.

The Ventura College baseball team hit into four double plays and saw its 11-game win streak end this afternoon, 9-3, against visiting Moorpark.

Jon Villareal went 2 for 5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Daniel Nimoy went 2 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI. Mario Landeros went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Ventura was 11-0 in April and had won the teams three previous meetings.

Third-place Ventura (23-12, 11-9) still leads the fourth-place Raiders (16-19, 9-11) in the WSC North standings.

The Ventura College baseball team will bring 11 straight wins of momentum into a key four-game homestand against Western State Conference opposition this week.

The third-place Pirates (23-11, 11-8) will host fourth-place Moorpark (15-19, 8-11) Tuesday, Los Angeles Pierce Wednesday, first-place Cuesta Thursday and second-place Hancock Saturday.

"The last four (home games) of my career," said sophomore Collin LaVoie. "I'm going to try to enjoy them."

"I told them, 'It's your last hurrah,'" said Ventura coach Donnie Adams.

Garrett Rau was 4-for-5 and starter Blair Walters pitched six strong innings as the visiting Ventura College baseball team won its 11th straight game this month, 7-2, over cross-county rival Moorpark Saturday afternoon.

Rau, who broke Jose Vargas' year-old school record for career hits Wednesday, added a pair of doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored. The Camarillo High product had 11 hits in 15 at bats in three wins last week.

Walters allowed just a pair of hits through five innings until he ran into trouble leading 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth.

Moorpark's Daniel Nimoy and Cliff Quick singled with one out and scored on a double by Mario Landeros.

With the tying run on second, Walters induced a pop out to end the threat.

Max Javate, James Pinto and closer Nolan Rudman provided three innings of scoreless relief as the Pirates' lineup poured on the four insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

Quick was 2 for 4 to pace the Moorpark offense.

Rau got the Pirates off on the right foot, leading off the game with a double and scoring on Rey Garcia's RBI groundout. He made it 2-0 in the fifth with an RBI double off the centerfield wall, which plated catcher Mike Yingling from first base.

LaVoie, batting second behind Rau, was 1 for 2 with three walks, meaning the top two hitters in the Pirates' order reached base eight times in 10 plate appearances.

The Ventura College baseball team will resume WSC North play today at Oxnard on the crest of an eight-game winning streak.

The third-place Pirates (20-12, 9-8), who trail second-place Hancock by two games, went 6-0 in non-conference play over Spring break.

The 28-8 win over Oxnard on April 4 was Ventura's record win in the rivalry.

The Ventura College baseball team picked up its eighth straight win and 20th win of the season at Glendale 8-1 Saturday afternoon.

The Pirates went 6-0 over Spring Break.

Opponents of the Ventura College baseball team this spring have experienced the competitive equivalent of death by a thousand cuts.

The Pirates may not have last year's slugging trio of Jose Vargas, Brett Fick and Zack Anderson, but it doesn't mean they aren't scoring runs in bunches this season.

In fact, after Wednesday's wins over Los Angeles Valley and Barstow by a combined 35-7 margin, Ventura (17-11) is threatening its school record by averaging 9.6 runs per game.

"We're not the same power team, but we can hit," said coach Donnie Adams. "We don't look that impressive. We just kind of single you to death."

Ventura is averaging about 11 hits per game. And about nine of them are singles.
Seven regulars are hitting better than .300, including A.J. Gallardo (.393), Reynoldo Garcia (.388), Garrett Rau (.378), Collin LaVoie (.348), Joe Ramirez (.341), Blair Walters (.340) and Brandon Young (.314).

"It's definitely been a team effort," said Adams.

Which has enabled the Pirates to record the biggest victories in program history over each of its county rivals. Ventura beat Moorpark 29-1 on March 17 and Oxnard 28-8 on Saturday.

"It was just one of those days," said Adams of Saturday's win.

Beginning with the Oxnard series, Ventura has won five straight, which snapped a five-game losing streak. Which snapped a seven-game winning streak. Which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Get the picture?

"We've definitely been on a roller coaster," said Adams.

If Ventura can smooth out the road, it still has plenty of postseason possibilities. Sitting in third place of the Western State Conference's North Division at 9-8, Ventura is four games behind 13-4 Cuesta and two games behind 11-6 Hancock.

"We have to get ahead of (Hancock) because we won the series," said Adams. "That's going to make it even tougher."

Second place comes with an automatic playoff berth and the division's past three third-place finishers have also made the Southern California regional playoffs.

Which makes Friday's visit of Los Angeles Mission and Saturday's trip to Glendale, both potential third-place finishers in the WSC South, all the more important.

"Those will be big games because they can affect seeding," said Adams. "We have to try to up our non-conference record."

Adams may want to try to convince his singles hitters that they're going up against a county foe.

Cuesta remains the mountain to climb in the WSC North for the Ventura College baseball team.

The Pirates were within one game of the Cougars a fortnight ago after sweeping a two-game series with Moorpark by a historic 36-2 margin.

But Cuesta, which has won 10 of the past 12 WSC North titles, swept Ventura 7-1 and 15-4 March 21 and 24, respectively, and the Pirates have now lost five straight.

Cuesta (20-10, 13-2) leads Hancock (17-12, 10-5) and Ventura (12-11, 7-8) by three and six games, respectively. The Cougars held off second-place Ventura by four games last spring.

A showdown for third place in the Western State Conference's North division Tuesday afternoon developed into Ventura College's biggest baseball win over rival Moorpark College.

A.J. Gallardo and Rey Garcia combined for six hits and nine runs scored and Ryan Plum allowed one run and six hits in seven innings as host Ventura battered Moorpark, 29-1, to win its sixth straight WSC North game.

Plum (2-1) scattered six hits and walked one, a severe contrast to the eight Raider pitchers who combined to allow 17 hits, 13 walks and nine hit batsmen.

Ventura's Colin LaVoie scored four runs without an official at bat. He was walked three times and was hit twice.

Gallardo and Garcia were both 3 for 4. Garcia added a two-run home run. Moorpark's Harrison Kain was 3 for 4 with the lone RBI.

Ventura (11-6, 6-3) opened the day a game behind WSC North leaders Cuesta and Hancock and a game ahead of the Raiders (8-12, 4-5).

Previously, Ventura's best day against Moorpark had been the 11-0 win at the tail end of last season. Moorpark swept a two-game series with Ventura in 2002 with wins of 24-8 and 36-12. It also defeated Ventura 23-2 in 1978.

The largest margin for a Ventura win remains 32-0 over Compton in 1984. Second baseman Dave Patterson was 6 for 6 that day. His son, third baseman Tyler Patterson, picked up an RBI as a late substitution Tuesday.

The two teams play again Thursday at Moorpark.

Community College men's basketball

Ventura 70, Cuesta 66: VC beats Cuesta to draw even in WSC North by Joe Curley in San Luis Obispo
Cuesta done in at the foul line by San Luis Obispo Tribune

Feature: Captain steers VC into contention by Joe Curley in Ventura

Community College baseball

Oxnard 7, Ventura 2: OC bounces back at Bash at the Beach by John Klima in Oxnard

NCAA Division III baseball

Season preview: CLU looks to pitch and run by David Lassen in Thousand Oaks

Baseball season has barely started, and it's already coming down to the final innings.

The Oxnard College baseball team allowed two runs in the home half of the ninth inning Wednesday to drop its season opener, 10-9, at Los Angeles Mission.

"Where's Brok Butcher?" asked Oxnard coach Jon Larson jokingly, invoking the name of the Condors old star closer.

Freshman Joey Ramirez, subbing in for injured all-conference outfielder Tyler Bevan, cracked a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday as the Ventura College baseball team won its season opener, 6-5, against No. 19-ranked Cerro Coso.

"Good to see the freshmen contributing," said Ventura coach Don Adams.

Opening weekend in the Bash at the Beach tournament continues this weekend. Sophomore starter Blair Walters gets the ball as Ventura visits Western State Conference rival Santa Barbara City at 10 a.m. and Oxnard hosts Victor Valley at 2 p.m.

"It'll be a clue about where we stand," said Adams.

The two local rivals will face each other 2 p.m. Saturday at Oxnard College, after hosting 10 a.m. home games.

After Monday's football practice, Gary Anglin told his Ventura College linebackers that lining up against cross-county rival Moorpark College was a fitting end to any season.

And any career.

Anglin, 57, has spent 34 of the past 39 years in the Pirates' football program as a player and coach. Saturday's 41st Citrus Cup game against Moorpark College will be his final football game in orange and black.

"It's a lot of years," said Anglin, who will rejoin the school's baseball program in the summer as an assistant to head coach Don Adams.

"I can't believe it... To me, it's the greatest."

We're working on a table of contents that will give readers, as we grow The College Blog, the ability to call up only posts from the sports, league or school about which they care. More to come.