Arroyo Blanks Moorpark to Rouse Ventura

For several anxious moments during pregame warm-ups Tuesday, Ventura College baseball Coach Gary Anglin watched his team’s worst-case scenario appear to unfold in slow motion.

Ventura, cast into the single-elimination Western State Conference tournament despite a second-place regular-season finish, looked uninspired and primed for an upset loss against visiting Moorpark, the fourth-seeded team in the four-team tournament.

“I looked at the outfielders and infielders during warm-ups and I thought we would be turning in our uniforms at the end of the day,” Anglin said. “They were just lethargic.”

About 2 1/2 hours later, the Pirates still had their shirts and their season in hand as right-hander Sam Arroyo kick-started Ventura’s postseason with a 6-0 shutout.

The victory puts Ventura (24-14) into Thursday’s tournament final against Cuesta, a 7-0 winner over Bakersfield. A win would ensure Ventura a spot in the Southern California regionals. But even if Ventura loses Thursday, it stands a good chance of earning an at-large berth because of its overall record.

Moorpark ends its season 20-16.

Arroyo (6-3), who said he noticed a lackluster mood among his teammates as early as Monday’s practice, took charge from the outset en route to recording his second straight shutout and his seventh complete game with a seven-hitter.

“It could have been my last junior college game,” said Arroyo, a sophomore from Buena High who has received scant attention from four-year colleges. “I figured if I come out and do my job, (my teammates) would back me.”

Beginning with the standout play of catcher Mitch King and shortstop Kwinn Knight, the Pirates supported Arroyo with an effort that was anything but lethargic.

King went two for five with three runs batted in addition to throwing out three runners attempting to steal.

After Ventura scored two unearned runs in the first inning off right-hander Mike Jenkins (5-5), King keyed a two-run fourth with a triple to right-center that scored Knight and Chris Marsden. In the sixth, King added an RBI single as Ventura built a 6-0 advantage.

Knight, a sophomore from Santa Clara High, led a 10-hit attack by going three for three with a sacrifice fly and two runs scored.

Moorpark could not mount any offense against a steady flow of fastballs and curves from Arroyo, who struck out seven and walked five.

Facing a two-on, no-out jam in the third, Arroyo struck out Moorpark’s Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters.

Daryll Hernandez, Chris Chandler and Tom Lunsford each had two hits for Moorpark. Ventura third baseman Kevin Zoll came off the bench to turn in the defensive play of the game with a diving stop for a force out in the eighth.