(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College baseball team (30-14, 17-11 in ACCAC) earned its biggest victories of the season on Saturday at the West Campus Aztec Baseball Field.
The Aztecs swept No. 1 Central Arizona College (39-6, 23-5) halting the Vaqueros’ 20-game winning streak. Pima had previously dropped seven of their last eight meetings against the Vaqueros.
Game 1: Pima CC Aztecs 6, (1) Central Arizona College Vaqueros 3
The Aztecs were hitless for four innings but got to the Central Arizona pitching with two runs in the 5th and four runs in the 5th.
Sophomore Emilio Corona broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the 5th. Freshman Trent Kiraly drove him in on an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1. Sophomore Josh Lackner hit an RBI single to bring in Kiraly to give the Aztecs the lead.
Kiraly came through again in the 6th inning with an RBI single scoring sophomore Romeo Ballesteros (Salpointe Catholic HS). Lackner reached on an error; which brought in sophomore Preston Clifford (Sabino HS), Kiraly and freshman Andrew Stucky (Canyon del Oro HS).
Kiraly went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Lackner was 1 for 3 with four RBIs. Corona and Clifford each finished 1 for 3 with a run scored.
“We just hit when we needed to when runners were on. We’ve been working on that a lot in practice,” Kiraly said. “Working on a lot of fastballs and off speeds in practice and working on situations, helped out a lot. This was definitely a huge confidence boost for us and at the end of the day, it’s just playing against another team and playing baseball.”
Freshman Darius Garcia picked up the win as he threw a complete-game giving up three runs (three earned) on eight hits with seven strikeouts and two walks on 101 pitches.
“I just came in ready to go. I knew that they were No. 1 in the nation but that doesn’t mean anything to us and we’ve been preparing all week for this,” Garcia said. “I found their weakness right away, it was low outside sliders and I just stuck with it. This is very big for us. We’ve been looking forward to this.”
CAC 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 8 2
PCC 0 0 0 0 2 4 x 6 5 0
W – Garcia (6-2). SB – Clifford.
Game 2: Pima CC Aztecs 12, (1) Central Arizona College Vaqueros 6
Trailing 3-1, the Aztecs scored 11 unanswered runs to help secure the sweep.
In the 4th inning, the Aztecs rallied off four runs to take the lead for good. Kiraly hit an RBI single to drive in Ballesteros. Stucky followed with a 2-run RBI double to put Pima ahead 4-3 as he scored Corona and Kiraly. Sophomore Fernando Loera drove in Stucky with his RBI hit.
Corona hit an RBI single in the 5th inning to make it 7-3. The Aztecs tacked on another five runs in the 7th inning. Corona hit a 2-run RBI single driving in freshman Gage Mestas and Ballesteros. Stucky and sophomore Jose Enriquez also had RBI singles in the inning as the Aztecs led 12-3.
Ballesteros finished the game going 4 for 5 with an RBI and four runs scored. Corona went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Stucky was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and a run. Kiraly scored a run, and along with Enriquez and Loera; they all went 1 for 4 with an RBI. Clifford was 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run.
Freshman Aiden May got the win as he pitched eight innings giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits with eight strikeouts and two walks on 104 pitches.
CAC 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 6 7 1
PCC 1 0 0 4 2 0 5 0 x 12 16 0
W – May (4-1). 2B – Stucky. HR – Ballesteros. SB – Ballesteros.
The Aztecs look to build off the momentum on Tuesday when they play at Yavapai College in Prescott. First game starts at noon.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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