Aztecs baseball split pair of close games at South Mountain
The Pima Community College baseball team (16-18, 7-15 in ACCAC) played a tough conference doubleheader on the road on Saturday at South Mountain Community College.
Sophomores Manny Ramirez (Bisbee HS) and Miguel Figueroa (Tucson HS) hit home runs while fellow sophomore Oscar Larranaga cracked a grand slam.
Game 1: Pima CC Aztecs 10, (20) South Mountain CC Cougars) 9 (10 innings): Freshman Martin Garcia (Tucson HS) hit into a fielder's choice which scored freshman Jesus Solis (Nogales HS) in the top of the 10th inning. Solis drew a lead-off walk and freshman Marcus Mendez (Desert View HS) reached on an error to move Solis into scoring position.
Ramirez hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. Sophomore Anthony Felix (Canyon del Oro HS) tied the game again in the fifth inning with a two-run RBI double. Sophomore Erick Migueles' (Canyon del Oro HS) RBI and freshman Logan Klunder's RBI double put Pima ahead 6-4 in the fifth and Figueroa's solo homer in the sixth inning made it 7-4.
The Cougars tied the game with three runs in the sixth and two runs in the eighth.
Garcia finished 1 for 4 with three RBIs while Ramirez went 2 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Figueroa was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Sophomore Ernesto Romero (Salpointe Catholic HS) picked up the win (2-0) as he pitched four and one-third innings in relief. He gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
Game 2: (20) South Mountain CC Cougars 9, Pima CC Aztecs 8 (7 innings): The Cougars scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win it.
The Aztecs took a 7-3 lead after scoring six runs in the fourth inning. Down 3-1, Mendez scored on an error and later in the inning, Larranaga hit a grand slam. Freshman Austin Treadwell capped off the inning with a groundout RBI. Mendez gave Pima the lead one more time in the seventh inning with an RBI double that scored Figueroa.
Larranaga went 2 for 5 with four RBIs and a run scored while Treadwell finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Mendez was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored and Garcia went 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Freshman Isaac Lopez (Nogales HS) took the loss (0-3) as he pitched one-third of an inning in relief giving up two runs (one earned) on one hit with one strikeout and three walks. Freshman Gage O'Brien (Catalina Foothills HS) started and threw five and two-thirds giving up seven runs (none earned) on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
The Aztecs will be back at the West Campus on Tuesday against Eastern Arizona College. The games will be at noon and 2:30 p.m.