(Mesa, AZ) The Pima Community College baseball team (25-24, 17-19 in ACCAC) played an ACCAC conference game on the road against GateWay Community College (24-26, 16-19) on Friday at the Gene Autry Park.
The Aztecs rallied from an early 7-0 deficit to beat the Geckos 12-10. The Aztecs have won three of their last four games since getting into the single game part of the schedule.
The score was tied at 10-10 heading into the 9th inning. Freshman Cooper Kruk (Catalina Foothills HS) led off the inning with a single, and fellow freshman Damian Lorta (Desert View HS) hit a two-run homer to right field on the first pitch to put the Aztecs up for good.
The Aztecs took their first lead with five runs in the 4th inning and did all their damage with two outs. Sophomore Jackson Glueck hit an RBI single to score freshman Adriel Figueroa-Brito. Two batters later, Lorta hit a two-run double to drive in Glueck and Kruk to make it a one-run deficit at 8-7. Lorta tied the game when he scored on sophomore Matt MacDonald’s RBI triple. Sophomore Mike Jones (Canyon del Oro HS) put the Aztecs ahead with his RBI single to bring in MacDonald.
The Geckos tied it with a run in the bottom of the 4th inning. The Aztecs took the lead again at 10-9 when MacDonald hit a line drive to left field to plate Lorta, who doubled in the previous at-bat. GateWay tied it again at 10-10 in the bottom of the 8th inning.
The Geckos scored seven runs in the top of the 1st inning and one run in the 2nd as the Aztecs started the rally with two runs in each the 2nd and 3rd innings.
Lorta hit his first RBI double in the 3rd inning as he closed out the game going 4-for-5 with five RBIs, four runs scored, a home run and three doubles. MacDonald finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs and a triple while Kruk also went 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Figueroa-Brito and sophomore Leon Cereceres each had an RBI and a run scored while Jones was 1-for-5 with two RBIs.
Freshman Jesse Neretlis picked up the win in relief as he pitched three innings, giving up one run (one earned) on two hits with three strikeouts and one walk on 49 pitches. Sophomore Jose Grijalva (Sunnyside HS) was the first pitcher out of the bullpen as he threw five and two-third innings, giving up three runs (three earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and three walks on 109 pitches.
W – Neretlis (3-2). 2B: Lorta 3, Figueroa-Brito 2. 3B: MacDonald. HR: Lorta.
The Aztecs are back on the diamond on Saturday for an ACCAC conference single game at Scottsdale Community College. First pitch is at 12:00 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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