Pima College’s media-relations department contributed to this report:
The 19th-ranked Pima College baseball team has won 15 of its last 16 games after Tuesday’s doubleheader sweep of Phoenix College at the West Campus Aztec Baseball Field.
Freshman David Shackelford finished the day going 1 for 4 with five RBIs, three runs and three walks.
Sophomore Rocco Gump went 4 for 6 with four RBIs and two runs in the two games while sophomore Matt Cornelius threw six-plus innings in a shutout outing.
Game 1: Pima 8, Phoenix College 4: The Aztecs (33-9, 20-6 in ACCAC) rallied in the third inning to take the lead for good.
Down 3-2, the Aztecs loaded the bases with one out and Shackelford hit a grand slam to put them up 6-3.
The Bears (19-20, 8-16) got a run back in the fourth inning but Gump hit an RBI single in the fifth inning and sophomore Hunter Faildo scored on a balk in the sixth.
Shackelford finished the game 1 for 4 with four RBIs and a run while Gump went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run. Faildo hit an RBI single in the first inning and was 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run. Sophomores Luis Garcia (Salpointe Catholic grad) and Andrew Stucky (Canyon del Oro) each went 1 for 3 with a run.
Sophomore Jaeden Swanberg (Salpointe Catholic) picked up the win to improve to 4-2. He pitched five innings, giving up four runs (all earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts on 72 pitches. Freshman J.T. Drake picked up his 11th save of the season after pitching the final two innings, giving up two hits with two strikeouts.
Game 2: Pima 13, Phoenix College 1 (7 innings): Cornelius (9-1) kept the Bears’ bats in check as he got the win after going 6 1/3 innings, giving up two hits with six strikeouts and one walk on 77 pitches.
The Aztecs poured it on in the fifth inning as they scored seven runs. Freshman Sterling Albrand hit a two-run RBI double to drive in freshman Ruben Castro (Tucson) and Shackelford to make it 7-0.
Gump followed with a two-run single, scoring freshman Elijah Reeves (Marana) and Albrand. Stucky and Faildo followed with back-to-back RBI hits in the inning.
Albrand closed out the game going 1 for 3 with four RBIs while Gump went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a run. Freshman Benji Cazares (Tucson) hit an RBI double in the 3rd inning and was 1 for 3 with an RBI and two runs in the game. Shackelford scored two runs and drew three walks. He also had a bases loaded walk RBI in the second inning. Castro finished 3 for 4 with two runs.
The Aztecs will play at No. 2 Central Arizona College on Saturday in a battle between the top two teams in the ACCAC. First game of the doubleheader starts at noon.
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