Softball Recap: Ventura Wins Going Away Against Santa Barbara

Ventura won the last time they faced Santa Barbara and things went their way on Friday too. Everything went the Ventura Cougars' way against the Santa Barbara Dons as the Ventura Cougars made off with a 12-2 win. With that victory, the Cougars brought their scoring average up to 6.5 runs per game.

Jayla Raya

Batters Struck Out (Career)

03/07/25 vs Santa Barbara	7
03/15/24 vs Pacifica	6
03/05/24 @ Buena	6
04/24/24 @ Santa Barbara	5
03/12/24 @ Pacifica	3

Jayla Raya made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in strikeouts. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Olivia Marsing, who went 3-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March of 2024. Trinity Apodaca also deserves some recognition as she got her first hit of the season.

Ventura hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most four strikeouts in five consecutive games.

Ventura has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. Santa Barbara's defeat was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 3-6.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Ventura will square off against San Marcos at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Ventura is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season. As for Santa Barbara, they will take on Rio Mesa at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Rio Mesa will roll in looking for their seventh straight win, something Santa Barbara surely won't give up without a fight.