The Pirates travel to Sacramento to take on American River for the first series in Big 8 conference play. MJC enters conference with a 9-4-1 record and best start in several years. The Pirates were recognized for the first time in 3C2A state rankings and come in with a #18 in state and #9 in Northern California. The Pirates offense lead by Delaney Huse-Davisoon (Pitman HS) and the strong arm of Chloee Hoffman (Gregori HS) in the circle have high hopes for this season. "Finishing dead last the last two years is not something I would have ever expected but Big 8 is not joke and we have some of the most talented teams in the state in our conference." Last year 7 of the 9 teams made the norcal playoffs out of th e16 team tournament and then 5 of them advanced,"  said Donaldson in his 5th year as head coach. "We  have had talented teams just competing against teams that were more balanced and had deeper rosters." This year the Pirates are hitting above .350 as a team and are not only offensively strong but have speed and talent in the defense. The Pirates will play 24 of the next 26 games against Big 8 teams and will have to prove themselves every week.