The Ventura College softball team officially became Western State Conference Gold Division champions after splitting a doubleheader with Moorpark College April 20 at Ventura.

The Pirates (26-12, 13-5 WSC) needed to win at least one game in order to secure the WSC title.

The Raiders (21-16, 12-5) stole the first game, erasing a 3-0 deficit after scoring three runs in the sixth inning. The game went into a tenth inning where Moorpark quickly took the lead scoring in two runs with an RBI from Alex Thompson and then another from Jaime Pino. 

The Pirates were not able to answer back in the bottom of the tenth giving the Raiders the 5-3 victory and a chance to win the championship in the second game.

According to Pirates outfielder Carlie Callaway, the Raiders offense was able to step up in extra innings. 

“They got a couple of good hits in the tenth [inning] and were able to come back,” Carlie Callaway said. “They had some momentum going on their side.” 

The Pirates rebounded in the second game holding a 3-1 lead into the fifth inning. The Pirates were then determined to prevent the Raiders from being the spoiler, exploding for five runs in the fifth to give the Pirates a convincing 8-1 victory, and the conference title.

According to Pirates head coach Sue Johnson, losing the first game helped give her team the sense of urgency needed to win game two and capture the title.

“After we lost the first game, the second became a championship game,” said  Johnson.

“It was a must win for both our teams but our girls fought for this win and they got it.”