Tucson, AZ – The Pima Community College baseball team (14-12, 6-10 in ACCAC) had two stellar pitching performances but the offense could not offer support on Tuesday at GateWay Community College (12-12, 9-7).
Freshman Adam Moraga (Sunnyside HS) and sophomore Jose Contreras (Tucson HS) produced two quality starts on the mound but the offense managed three runs on nine hits in the two games. Sophomore Marcus Mendez (Desert View HS) was a bright spot for the Aztecs as he went 2 for 6 with two RBIs and a run scored. Sophomore Logan Klunder was 3 for 6 on the day.
Game 1: GateWay CC Geckos 2, Pima CC Aztecs 1 (7 innings): The rally fell short for the Aztecs as they got on the board in the 6th inning to cut GateWay’s lead in half.
Mendez hit a lead-off single and a few batters later with one out, freshman Matthew Hackman (Empire HS) hit a sacrifice-fly RBI to drive him in.
Mendez went 1 for 3 with a run scored and Klunder was 1 for 3. The Aztecs had two hits for the game.
Moraga took the loss (2-3) as he pitched six innings giving up two runs (two earned) on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk.
PCC 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0
GWCC 0 2 0 0 0 0 x 2 5 2
Game 2: GateWay CC Geckos 3, Pima CC Aztecs 2: The Aztecs dropped a heartbreaker as the Geckos scored all three runs in the 9th inning.
The Aztecs got on the board in the 3rd inning when Mendez hit an RBI double to score Hackman. Mendez came through with a sacrifice-fly RBI to plate freshman Elisandro Diaz (Salpointe Catholic HS) in the 5th inning to make it 2-0.
Mendez finished 1 for 3 with two RBIs. Freshman Rafael Padilla (Nogales HS) went 2 for 4 while Klunder was 2 for 3. Hackman went 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Contreras took the loss (3-3) as he threw eight and two-third innings giving up three runs (none earned) on five hits with eight strikeouts.
PCC 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 7 1
GWCC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 6 1
The Aztecs return to the West Campus Baseball Field on Saturday when they host Yavapai College in an ACCAC doubleheader. First pitch is at noon.
