At the top of the eighth inning, the Orange Coast College Pirates asserted their 6-5 win with a tie-breaking run against the El Camino College Warriors on Wednesday, March 18, at the ECC softball field.

The Pirates put themselves in a comfortable three-point lead at the top of the first inning, but the Warriors followed in the bottom of the second inning when utility player Sophia Munguia hit an inside-the-park home run and cleared all three bases with a single swing.

“I trust my coach, honestly. So I just look at my coach, and he tells me to go. I go as hard as I can,” Munguia said.

Aside from the point made by Munguia, Warriors catcher Melissa Terrazas managed to return to home plate, scoring them another point in the same inning.

It was zeros on the board for innings three through five.

At the bottom of the sixth, the Warriors evened out the scoreboard by bringing in three more runs, putting both teams at 5-5.

The seventh inning concluded in a zero, which meant the teams would carry on to extra innings.

Pirates head coach Jodie Kiaha explained that it’s important to keep a level head when diving into an extra inning.

“If we’re razzled in the dugout, [the Warriors are] going to be even more razzled in the dugout,” Kiaha said.

Pirates pitcher Laura Episom ended the game as the pitcher and echoed her coach’s thoughts on how important it is to keep a good spirit.

“I really try to think about my team, I’m trying to keep us up cause I feel like once one person’s down, the whole team kind of just follows,” Episom said.

Coach Kiaha and Warriors head coach Jessica Rapoza have worked together in the past.

“She’s done a phenomenal job with this program…I want to complement her work with the [California Community College Athletic Association] in the community college softball sector,” Kiaha said.

Rapoza has been part of the softball team for 12 years, coaching 11 seasons and is finishing her time in the program.

“It’s good closure, I really like this group,” Rapoza said.