(Thatcher, AZ) The Pima Community College baseball team (41-15, 26-12 in ACCAC) finished up regular season play on Saturday in a split at Eastern Arizona College (25-29, 14-24).
The Aztecs locked up the No. 3 seed for the NJCAA Region I, Division I Playoffs. They will play a best-of-3 series at No. 2 South Mountain Community College starting on Thursday in Phoenix.
Sophomore Rocco Gump (Seton Catholic HS) finished the day going 3 for 6 with an RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore Hunter Faildo was 2 for 8 with three runs scored. Freshman Alessandro Castro (Pusch Ridge Christian HS) got the win and fellow freshman J.T. Drake added another save to his NJCAA-leading total.
Game 1: Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters 5, Pima CC Aztecs 3
The Aztecs took an early lead but the Gila Monsters rallied.
Freshman David Shackelford put the Aztecs up 2-0 with a two-run RBI double scoring Faildo and freshman Benji Cazares (Tucson Magnet HS).
Eastern Arizona scored one run in the bottom-half of the inning and took the lead at 3-2 with two runs in the 4th. The Aztecs tied the game in the 5th inning when Gump hit an RBI double to bring in Cazares, who singled earlier in the inning. Shackelford was tagged out at home to end the threat.
The Gila Monsters took the lead for good with two runs in the 6th inning.
Shackelford finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs while Cazares went 2 for 4 with two runs scored. Gump was 2 for 3 with an RBI and Faildo finished 1 for 4 with a run.
Sophomore Dayne Pengelly took the loss in relief (2-1) as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up one run (one earned) on one hit with two strikeouts. Sophomore Anthony Imhoff started the game and went five and one-third innings, giving up four runs (four earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
PCC 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 10 0
EAC 1 0 0 2 0 2 x 5 8 0
L – Pengelly (2-1). 2B: Gump, Cazares, Shackelford. SB: Avila.
Game 2: Pima CC Aztecs 5, Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters 3
The Aztecs took the lead and never relinquished it but the Gila Monsters made things interesting in the 9th inning.
The Gila Monsters hit three straight singles off Drake to load the bases. Drake settled in and got a strikeout and two groundouts to end the game.
Sophomore Braedon Mondeau (Cienega HS) drew a walk to lead off the 3rd inning. He was driven in by sophomore Gage Mestas’ RBI double to put Pima up the scoreboard.
Mondeau made it 3-0 in the 4th inning with a two-run RBI single plating Faildo and Gump.
The Aztecs patted their lead in the 8th inning with two runs. They loaded the bases as Avila drew a walk to score Faildo and sophomore Luis Garcia (Salpointe Catholic HS) was hit by a pitch, which scored Gump to make it 5-1.
Mondeau finished the game 1 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored while Faildo and Gump each scored two runs. Mestas was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Avila and Garcia also each had an RBI.
Castro got the win (7-5) as he pitched five innings, giving up one run (one earned) on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks on 92 pitches. Drake got his 13th save of the season after throwing the final two innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits with two strikeouts.
PCC 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 5 5 1
EAC 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 8 1
W – Castro (7-5). S- Drake (13). 2B: Mestas.
The No. 3 seeded Aztecs will play at No. 2 South Mountain Community College in the NJCAA Region I, Division I Semifinals. The first game of the best-of-3 series will be on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. in Phoenix.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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