(Thatcher, AZ) The Pima Community College softball team (42-12) is heading back to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament for the first time since 2013 as the Aztecs left Thatcher, AZ with some hardware.
The No. 2 seeded Aztecs defeated No. 1 Eastern Arizona College 8-5 on Saturday to claim the championship. The Aztecs had to rally to win all three games at the Region tournament.
Down 3-0 with one out in the top of the 4th inning, the Aztecs got a double from freshman Alyssa Noriega (Pueblo HS) and a single from freshman Natalya Rivera (Sunnyside HS). Freshman Alyssa Lopez (Sunnyside HS) took a strike and fouled off a couple of pitches before driving a ball deep to right field for a three-run homer to tie the game at 3-3. Pima loaded the bases with two outs and sophomore Mallory Zylinski-Wrobel (Sahuarita HS) drew a walk to bring in freshman Aubrey Marx (Cienega HS) as the Aztecs took a 4-3 lead.
The Gila Monsters tied the game in the bottom-half of the 4th inning. The score remained until the 6th inning when the Aztecs put up another four-spot and did all their damage with two outs.
Sophomore Camila Zepeda (Tucson Magnet HS) extended her hitting streak to 30 straight games, and her biggest hit came in the 6th as she connected on the first pitch she saw and sent it over the right field fence to give Pima the lead once again at 5-4. Freshman Jazmyne Waddell (San Manuel HS) and pinch runner Mari Asher (Canyon del Oro HS) scored on an error to put it at 7-4. Rivera hit an RBI single to drive in sophomore Mina Chacon (Tucson Magnet HS) to cap the inning.
Zepeda closed out the game going 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run. Lopez finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a run while Rivera went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run. Noriega was 2 for 3 with a run and Zylinski-Wrobel finished 1 for 3 with an RBI and two walks.
Waddell was named the Region I, Division I Finals Most Valuable Player. She went 3 for 4 with a run scored, and also picked up the win in the circle as she pitched all seven innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on 11 hits with two strikeouts and one walk on 111 pitches.
“Alyssa (Lopez) was amazing. She gives us such great at-bats. It was just a matter of when she got her opportunity and she was prepared for the moment,” Pima softball coach Rebekah Quiroz said about Lopez’s game-tying home run.
She added that Zepeda “lives for those moments,” when discussing her go-ahead home run and that Waddell was “lights out, contributing on all aspects and supported the other pitchers during the tournament.”
This is the program’s first Region I, Division I Championship and NJCAA Division I National tournament appearance with Quiroz at the helm. The Aztecs took third place in 2013 and were fourth in 2012.
“I’m not surprised by what these girls did. They are resilient and the most dangerous team in the country,” Quiroz said. “They respond when they’re backs are against the wall. I prefer when they are behind in games, it’s a dangerous way to play but I know my team.”
PCC 0 0 0 4 0 4 0 8 14 3
EAC 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 5 11 2
W – Waddell. 2B: Noriega. HR: Lopez, Zepeda.
The Aztecs will compete at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament from May 20-25 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, AL. The tournament bracket will be released on Tuesday, May 14 at 1:00 p.m. (ET); 10:00 a.m. (Tucson time).
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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