(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College baseball team (40-14, 25-11 in ACCAC) took the first game but dropped the second game of its ACCAC doubleheader against South Mountain Community College (41-13, 25-11) on Tuesday at the West Campus Aztec Field.
The Aztecs and the Cougars started the day and ended it tied for the No. 2 seed in the NJCAA Region I, Division I Playoffs. The Aztecs own the tiebreaker because they’ve won three out of the four games played against them.
Sophomore Gage Mestas finished the day 3 for 9 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Sophomore Matt Romero picked up the win and freshman J.T. Drake tallied up another save to his NJCAA-leading total.
Game 1: Aztecs 6, Cougars 4
The Aztecs rallied in the mid-innings to take the lead for good.
Down 4-2 in the bottom of the 4th inning, freshman David Shackelford got it started with a leadoff double. Sophomore Joey Adge knocked him in with an RBI single. With two outs in the inning, Mestas hit an RBI single to score Adge to tie the game at 4-4. Later in the inning Mestas scored on a passed ball to put Pima up 5-4.
Sophomore Rocco Gump (Seton Catholic HS) added to Pima’s lead in the 5th with an RBI single to score sophomore Braedon Mondeau (Cienega HS), who hit a leadoff single and stole second base to get into scoring position.
Mestas hit his first RBI single of the game in the 2nd inning as he finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs. Adge went 1 for 2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Gump was 1 for 3 with an RBI while Mondeau and Shackelford each scored a run.
Romero pitched in relief and picked up the win (4-0) after he went three and one-third innings, giving up three hits with two strikeouts. Drake earned his NJCAA-leading 12th save of the season after pitching the final one and two-thirds with two strikeouts.
W – Romero (4-0). S- Drake (12). 2B: Shackelford. SB: Mondeau.
Game 2: South Mountain CC Cougars 10, Pima CC Aztecs 4
The Aztecs struggled to manufacture offense as the rally fell short.
Down 6-0 and only generating two walks in the first four innings, Mestas had Pima’s first hit in the 5th inning when he drove a two-run RBI single to score David Shackelford and freshman Antonio Avila. Sophomores Andrew Stucky (Canyon del Oro HS) and Hunter Faildo hit back-to-back RBI doubles to make it 6-4 but that’s as close as Pima would get.
The Aztecs had one hit in the final four innings.
Mestas finished the game 1 for 5 with two RBIs and a run. Stucky went 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored. Faildo was 1 for 3 with an RBI. Shackelford and freshman Antonio Avila each drew two walks and had a run scored.
Sophomore Matt Cornelius took the loss (9-2) as he pitched four and two-third innings, giving up six runs (four earned) on eight hits with one strikeout and three walks.
L – Cornelius (9-2). 2B: Faildo, Stucky.
The Aztecs will close out the regular season on Saturday when they play at Eastern Arizona College. First game starts at noon.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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