Sophomore Bailey Critchlow has the game-winning hit for the second straight game as the Aztecs split with Eastern Arizona College on Tuesday. The Aztecs are 12-8 overall and 8-5 in ACCAC conference play. Photo by Ben Carbajal.
Sophomore Bailey Critchlow has the game-winning hit for the second straight game as the Aztecs split with Eastern Arizona College on Tuesday. The Aztecs are 12-8 overall and 8-5 in ACCAC conference play. Photo by Ben Carbajal.

Critchlow has game-winning hit in the first game as Aztecs softball split with Eastern Arizona College

The Pima Community College softball team (12-8, 8-5 in ACCAC) played a pair of tightly contested games on Tuesday against Eastern Arizona College (9-8, 6-6).

Sophomore Amy Pacheco (Sahuaro HS) was a standout at the plate as she finished the day 4 for 6 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

Game 1: (18) Pima CC Aztecs 10, Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters 9: Sophomore Bailey Critchlow came through in the clutch as she hit a walk-off two-run RBI single to win it in the seventh inning.

The Aztecs took the lead but saw it fizzle after the Gila Monsters capitalized on Pima's five errors and scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 9-8 lead.

Sophomore Courtney Brown (Flowing Wells HS) got things going with a two-run RBI double which was followed by Critchlow's two-run RBI single to make it 4-1 in the second inning.

The Aztecs scored four more runs in the fourth inning with Brown's RBI triple and sophomore Margarita Corona's (Tucson HS) sacrifice-fly RBI. Pacheco capped off the inning with a two-run RBI single to make it 8-2.

Critchlow finished 2 for 4 with four RBIs and a run scored while Brown went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Pacheco was 2 for 3 with two RBIs.

Critchlow picked up the win on the mound (8-3) after she pitched a complete-game giving up nine runs (two earned) on 10 hits with one strikeout and two walks.

Game 2: Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters 8, (18) Pima CC Aztecs 6 (8 innings): The Aztecs surrendered another lead as the Gila Monsters tied the game in the seventh inning and scored two runs in the eighth. With a sophomore Larissa Rodriguez (Tucson HS) on second, Brown drew a walk but three straight pop-ups ended the game.

Freshman Alyssa Smith (Winslow HS) put the Aztecs on the board in the first inning with a two-run RBI single. Fellow freshman Chandler Arviso (Cibola HS) hit an RBI single in the inning to put the Aztecs up 3-1.

The Aztecs added a run in the fourth inning to cut Eastern Arizona's lead to 5-4. In the fifth, Pacheco hit a two-run home run to score Corona, who walked earlier in the inning, to give Pima a 6-5 lead.

Pacheco went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored while Smith finished 3 for 4 with two RBIs. Arviso was 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Sophomore Luisa Silvain (Cholla HS) took the loss (1-1) as she pitched a complete–game giving up eight runs (five earned) on 12 hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

The Aztecs will host an ACCAC conference doubleheader against Scottsdale Community College at the West Campus on Saturday. The games will be at noon and 2:00 p.m.