The Pierce College softball team’s difficult season came to an end in bittersweet fashion after splitting a doubleheader against Moorpark College on Tuesday, April 21 at home.
Moorpark employed small ball tactics en route to a 24-2 victory in the first of two games. Moorpark managed to to score big against Pierce’s pitchers and the contest ended after the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.
“Hopefully we can bounce back and cut down on our mistakes,” said Pierce head coach Danny Moore after the first game. “For some reason, we tend to have those one or two innings where we have bad mistakes and unfortunately teams are going to capitalize on that. It’s a learning process for us.”
The second game wasn’t as easy for Moorpark. Pierce managed to put the crushing defeat from the first game behind it and came back to win the second game 6-3.
Freshman pitcher Nicole Linderman pitched three scoreless innings in the Brahmas win. Pierce struck first with five runs in the bottom of the third inning. Although the Brahmas scored first, the Raiders answered with a run in the top of the fourth inning. By the fifth inning, the score was 5-1.
Pierce’s offense picked up where it left off in the bottom of the fifth and notched an additional run, but Moorpark retaliated in the top of the sixth with two runs of its own.
However, the Raiders couldn’t produce any further runs and Pierce retired the side in the seventh inning to end the game in a 6-3 victory.
“The team did a great job in the second game. They made their adjustments after the first game and they battled back,” Moore said. “It was a good job by everybody. It was hard to single out a particular player.”
Moore was impressed with how the team responded to the blowout loss it experienced in the first game.
“They are learning,” Moore said. “Learning it the hard way. Having to come back and hold your composure and stay in it and keep fighting, and not get down on yourselves.”
The ending of the season brings hope for Pierce softball next season.
“With the returners coming back, we will be a strong team next year and a lot of new kids to boost a bigger roster,” Moore said.
“I think the girls have improved so much on their hitting from their first game to the second game,” assistant coach Rosie Vanegas said. “I think they felt more confident the second time around.”
Finishing the season with a win helped Pierce see its potential.
“In the beginning of the year we weren’t that good, so this just shows how far we’ve come since a few months ago,” Linderman said.
Pierce ended its season with a 3-21 overall record.