Rained-out Baseball Bash doesn’t dampen team’s spirits

By Valeria Martinez de Andino, Michelle Nelson and Robert Garcia

VCNC reporters

Rain forced Ventura College Pirates Head Coach Don Adams to cancel the Baseball Bash at the Beach tournament, which was scheduled for Friday through Sunday, Jan. 25 through 27.

The team showed up for practice on the field the following chilly, windy Monday afternoon to prepare for the upcoming season.

Players and coaches said that the cancellation of the tournament did not affect their season. “There are no excuses,” Assistant Coach Mark Magdaleno said. “You can only play the cards you’re dealt and these are the cards the rain gods dealt us.”

The tournament is traditionally a way for community colleges throughout Northern and Southern California to participate in a pre-season competition. From the Ventura County Community College District, Oxnard and Ventura colleges were expected to play.

Pitcher Zach Thornton said the tournament helps to “start off the season, to have a couple of games before we go on the road for three weeks.” It is a way “to get games in and see how we match up with everyone else,” Thornton said.

Magdaleno said that the tournament is a way to warm up and get pitches in before the team jumps into the Palomar Tournament in Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday, Jan 31.

The first pre-season home game is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 5, against Glendale College.

Adams is confident about this season. “We should be very competitive in our conference,” he said. “We have a great bunch of guys.”

Magdaleno agrees. “We brought in some of the best recruits we have had in a long time,” he said. “Our better days will come as we mature.”

Adams said his top three returning players are third baseman Jose Vargas, Thornton and pitcher and outfielder Jacob Regalado.