For the first time in the Pierce College softball team’s history, a public address system was used by an announcer and the American flag was raised during a game according to Danny Moore, assistant coach for the Pierce Brahmas.
This milestone took place during a double header that Pierce College (0-11) hosted against the Ventura College Pirates (11-8-1) on Thursday, March 25. The match added two more losses to Pierce’s record with the first game ending in 25-0 and the second with an 18-0 score.
The first game was led by the Pirates who, despite their several foul balls, scored a series of inside-the-park home runs. Second baseman Emily Heath and starting pitcher Alex Thorp made their contributions with back-to-back inside-the-park home runs during the third inning.
Pierce’s starting pitcher Vanessa Sanchez, together with Marissa Sanchez and Samantha Buliavac, were the first to step up to the plate during the first inning but were unable to score, giving way to a lead that only kept growing as each inning passed by.
The second game brought on a change of pitchers for both teams as Marissa Sanchez took over for the Brahmas and Olivia Hernandez took over for the Pirates.
Sonia Ford, assistant coach for the Pirates, said the team’s main focus was a strong defense.
“We always have high expectations coming into a game,” Ford said. “We have to try and attack and focus on generating runs.”
Moore, who is also acting as the interim head coach for the Brahmas, said it’s been a tough year for the team.
“We have a lot of players who really haven’t had any softball experience in the past,” Moore said. “We have a couple of kids that are stepping in with a tremendous amount of heart and determination and my heart goes out to them.”
Moore pointed out that the lack of physical recruiting for the team has also had a big impact on this season. One of the team’s new assistant coaches has started recruiting experienced players at high school games around the area in order to bring them to Pierce, Moore said.
“I’m making contact with them, I’m speaking with their parents and we are going to try and turn this thing around,” Moore said. “We’re going to come back and get a little payback and we’re going to bring Brahma spirit back to the softball world because it’s been missing here for far too long.”
Heather Krahling, assistant coach to the softball team, said the team’s energy and dynamics rely heavily on Moore.
“The team follows his mood,” Krahling said. “If he’s stressed, they’re stressed, and if he cracks a joke they laugh for thirty minutes.”
For the remaining of the season, Moore said his only option is to continue with a positive attitude in order to motivate and push his team forward.
“I’m trying everything, just to promise them that there is light at the end of the tunnel,” Moore said. “To take it as a life lesson and as a vision of what it should be like, what it could be like and what it will be like.”
Pierce is scheduled to host Oxnard College on Thursday, March 27 at 2:30 p.m.