Moorpark College softball finished off their regular season with a 6-5 walk-off victory at home against Pasadena City College on Wednesday, April 25, 2018.
The Raiders finalized the regular season with an 18-19 overall record and a 4-10 Western State Conference North record. Softball will not be continuing on to the postseason, but the walk-off victory on sophomore day against Pasadena City College was a send-off for which many of the players were looking, especially the sophomores.
“It was definitely a special moment, I just wanted to make this game special and memorable for the rest of my life,” said Jacqueline Ramirez, an outfielder on the Moorpark College softball team.
Ramirez was able to make this a memorable night indeed while hitting a lead-off triple to begin the game and a two-RBI walk-off double to secure the victory in her final game as a Raider. This victory was not just celebrated for the game itself, but celebrated for the resilience of the team throughout this rocky season.
“A lot of teams just roll over, but not us,” said Sierra Huerta, the Moorpark College softball shortstop. “A lot of that just comes with the mentality of, okay we are done getting beat this bad, let’s just shut them out.”
Moorpark College softball began the season strong with a 12-6 overall record and a 2-1 conference record, but as the season wore on the Raiders would fall into a losing streak slump that they could not pull themselves out of until the final game. Moorpark lost 13 out of 18 games and were shutout five times during this stretch, prior to the victory on sophomore day.
Even though, the season did not pan out the way this team imagined, there was still a heightened sense of optimism entering the final game.
“I have a lot of confidence in this team,” said Phoebe Jackels, a pitcher and infielder for the Moorpark Raiders. “We came back and I knew that we were going to do it.”
This season, Moorpark College only had 11 players, which made them a close-knit group. According to the team, lifelong friendships and new additions to their families were formed during the duration of the season, which is irreplaceable.
“The group was just a really kind group of girls who made it like a family atmosphere,” said head coach Ginny Mitchell. “They made it really easy to coach.”
