Baseball Game Preview: Ventura Cougars vs. Saugus Centurions

The Ventura Cougars will take on the Saugus Centurions in a tournament on Saturday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Ventura is headed into their home opener looking to turn things around after starting their season on the road. They took a 4-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of Thousand Oaks on Friday. The defeat continues a trend for the Cougars in their meetings with the Lancers: they've now lost five in a row.

Ventura got a good showing from Liam Stohlman, who tossed 2.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. What's more, Stohlman gave up only two walks, the fewest he's had since back in March of 2025.

At the plate, Ian Barnes was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-2 with one home run.

Meanwhile, Saugus suffered their biggest loss since April 23, 2025 on Friday. They came up short against Birmingham, falling 9-3.

Saugus also got a good showing from Noah Garica, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.

On the hitting side, JD Lawless made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.