The Moorpark College softball team traveled to Pierce College on Thursday, April 18, to take on the Pierce College Brahmas. A win against the Western State Conference rivals would lock up the No. 1 seed for the Raiders, still with one game left to play.

The Raiders offense got things started on a warm Thursday in the valley. Infielder Dani Bishop registered the first hit and subsequent steal of the game. After Bishop advanced to third base on a passed ball, do-it-all sophomore Mallory Akhlaghi singled, bringing her teammate across home plate and scoring the game’s first run.

The latter half of the first inning repeated how many of Moorpark’s defensive innings have gone this season. Starting pitcher Amanda Smith and company have played like world-beaters for much of the year, and this game would go no differently. Three up and three down for Pierce’s offense ended the first inning with the visitors up one.

Catcher Maddy Mekari led off for the Raiders to start the second inning and reached first base on a fielding error. The bases were loaded after Ashlyn Olsen singled, and Mia Gregory‘s patience was rewarded with a walk. Bishop’s bat was still warm from the first inning, and the hitter was back up with a chance to do serious damage to the score. Once again, the freshman’s bat found the ball, bringing in Mekari and Olsen to make it a three-run lead.

The Brahmas scored their first hit of the game in the bottom of the second, a well-hit double to right field. It would be all for naught, but Pierce was still scoreless as a groundout, and two swinging strikeouts retired the side.

A Raider putting her stamp on the game defensively was Mallory Akhlaghi. Akhlaghi made a handful of eye-catching plays against Pierce, offering insight into her intense mentality that beautifully explains her playing style.

“I dare the ball to get hit to me. I enjoy when the ball gets hit to me,” Akhlaghi said. “I find that having that confidence and wanting the ball to get hit also makes it easier when that time comes.”

Akhlaghi started the third inning by taking a pitch to the body and earning first base. Outfielder Leah Cowans was up to bat next and added to her 30 runs batted in (RBIs) this season with a missile of a double down the left-field line. Freshman Isabella Velasquez had a runner in scoring position for her next at-bat, as Cowans had advanced to third on a groundout. A sacrifice fly off a well-hit ball scored another Raiders run and left one out remaining in the inning.

After Mekari played the waiting game, she walked in her second at-bat of the game and secured second base on a passed ball. Kylie Kolkowski’s ever-effective bat pushed a ball out to right field and scored the third run of the inning.

The Brahmas added two more hits to their total in the third inning. Great fielding and quick thinking from Smith and Cowans resulted in two outs. The fourth strikeout of the game ended the inning with a score of 6-0.

Taytem Reyes was walked and wasted no time stealing second and third base. Following Reyes’ heist of third base, Akhlaghi reached first on a fielding error, which also scored the Newbury Park High School alum from third.

The Raiders could smell a win. They needed to hold Pierce scoreless for two more innings and score once more on offense for an early fifth-inning dismissal, which would put the mercy rule into effect. Smith tallied two more K’s, making it six through four innings.

By the time Mekari made it up to bat in the fifth, the Raiders had accumulated two outs. Unfazed, the second-year catcher singled to right field. The Raiders had their game-winning, division-clinching run on first base. Up to bat with the weight of the season on her shoulders, Mekari was a hitter who has made a habit of showing off her power as of late.

Kylie Kolkowski did what she does best and cranked a ball into left field for a triple. A triple that sent Mekari to home plate would send the Raiders home with a division title if they could muster three more scoreless outs on defense.

Moorpark’s star pitcher added a poetic end to the game, striking out her seventh batter swinging. After the game, Smith talked about her faith in her defense and what the prospect of finishing their conference season as undefeated champions would mean to the team.

“I just think it’s a mindset. I just have to believe that I can push through and that the defense has my back. I know they’re behind me,” Smith said. “I think it would be everything [to go undefeated]. We’ve been working so hard this season for this chance to beat them, and go undefeated in conference, and I know we can do it.”

Head coach Ashley Colon commented on the team’s conference-clinching win and looked ahead to the final game of the regular season postgame.

“Quite frankly we laid it out before the season that our goal is to win our conference, the girls knew that from the very beginning,” Coach Colon said. “Even though we clinched conference today, we know that our job’s not finished. We want to go out undefeated, and rightfully so.”

The Raiders will take the field for their last regular season game of the year at home against No.2 in the North division, Cuesta College. With the conference title locked up, an undefeated conference season hangs in the balance on sophomore night at 2:30 on Tuesday, April 22.