Information for this report provided by Pima media-relations director Ray Suarez:
The Pima Community College baseball team opened play in the Ringer Bats JUCO Invitational on Saturday at Sloan Park in Mesa with victories over New Mexico Junior College and Trinidad (Colo.) State College.
Pima (4-2) outscored their opponents 12-2 as sophomore starter J.T. Drake pitched a gem and freshman reliever Seth Lee kept the bats in check during his appearance.
Freshman Chase Cummings finished the day 3 for 6 with three runs scored, two RBIs and two doubles. Sophomore Nick Arias (Tucson High) went 3 for 7 with an RBI and a run.
Pima 6, New Mexico Junior College 0:
Drake, who is bound for Texas Tech, pitched eight innings of shutout ball as he gave up five hits with eight strikeouts and one walk on 93 pitches.
The Aztecs got on the board in the second inning when sophomore Caleb Herd (Cienega) hit a sacrifice fly to score sophomore Ruben Castro (Tucson High).
Up 2-0 in the fourth inning, the Aztecs scored three runs as Herd drove in his second run of the game on a bunt RBI single bringing in sophomore Brant Kragel.
Two batters later, sophomore Antonio Avila hit a sacrifice fly to plate Cummings.
Arias followed with an RBI single to score sophomore Elijah Reeves (Marana) to make it 5-0.
Avila and Cummings each scored a run on wild pitches.
Cummings finished 1 for 3 with two runs scored and a walk while Arias was 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Herd closed out the game going 1 for 3 with two RBIs. Avila finished 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Pima 6, Trinidad State 2: The Aztecs rallied in the fourth inning and broke open a tie game with four unanswered runs.
Cummings picked up where he left off in the first game.
This time, he hit a two-run RBI double in the fourth inning to score Kragel and Castro, who had walked and singled respectively with one out.
With the game tied at 2-2 in the fifth, the Aztecs retook the lead for good when sophomore David Shackelford hit an RBI double to bring around Arias, who hit a single and stole second base to get in scoring position.
The Aztecs added to their lead in the sixth when sophomore Dom Felix (Canyon del Oro) drove an RBI single to score Cummings and make it 4-2.
The Aztecs added insurance in the seventh inning when Kragel hit an RBI single bringing in sophomore Sterling Albrand and Castro followed with a sacrifice-fly RBI to plate Shackelford.
Cummings went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run. Castro was 1 for 3 with an RBI and run while Shackelford and Kragel each finished 1 for 3 with an RBI, a run and a walk.
Arias closed it out going 1 for 3 with a run.
Lee picked up the win as he pitched 3 2/3 innings in relief, giving up one hit with seven strikeouts.
The Aztecs close out play at the Ringer Bats JUCO Invitational on Sunday when they play Trinidad State at 10:00 a.m. and El Paso Community College at 2:00 p.m. Both games will be at Sloan Park.
Softball team drops two games in Great Western Shootout
The Pima softball team (4-5) closed out play in the Great Western Shootout on Saturday at the Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex in Yuma losing their final two games after scoring three runs off 10 hits for the day.
Snow (Utah) College 8, Pima 0 (6 innings): The Aztecs managed just one hit for the game as freshman Mari Asher (Canyon del Oro) broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the sixth inning. She finished the game 1 for 2 at the plate.
Freshman Yanelyssia Chavez (Salpointe Catholic) took the loss as she pitched four innings, giving up six runs (three earned) on six hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
College of Southern Idaho 6, Pima 3: The Aztecs took the lead in the fifth inning, but the Golden Eagles scored five unanswered runs in the late innings.
Freshman Alyssa Noriega (Pueblo) tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning with a solo home run to center field.
The Aztecs scored two more runs in the fifth inning as sophomore Camila Zepeda (Tucson High) drove an RBI double to bring in freshman Talia Martin (Mountain View).
The Aztecs loaded the bases when sophomore Mallory Zylinski-Wrobel (Sahuarita) was hit by a pitch and freshman Jazmyne Waddell (San Manuel) drew a walk.
Noriega hit a sacrifice fly to left field, which brought in Zepeda and put the Aztecs up 3-1.
The Golden Eagles tied it with two runs in the top of the sixth inning and took the advantage with three runs in the seventh inning.
Noriega finished the game 1 for 3 with two RBIs, a run and a walk. Zepeda was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run. Martin went 0 for 2 with two walks and a run.
Freshman Nevaeah Bracamonte took the loss as she pitched a complete-game, giving up six runs (six earned) on eight hits with 10 strikeouts and three walks.
The Aztecs will next play at the El Paso Community College Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
They will play the host Tejanas on Friday at 11:30 a.m. and then go up against Cisco College at 2 p.m.
Annika Arvayo earns NJCAA National Qualifier at CAC Indoor Invitational
The Pima women’s track & field team competed at the CAC Indoor Invitational on Saturday in Coolidge and the 11th-ranked Aztecs now have 10 Indoor national qualifying marks after three meets.
Sophomore Annika Arvayo (Salpointe Catholic) took first place in the weight throw and set an NJCAA Indoor national qualifying mark of 14.99 meters (49-feet, 2.25-inches) on her fifth attempt. Her feat landed her No. 3 in Pima Indoor school history and marked the best throw since 2001.
Freshman Reatta Danhof (Ironwood Ridge) took second place in the 800-meter race with a time of 2 minutes, 26.27 seconds. She is now listed at No. 2 in Pima Indoor school history, and it was the fastest time since 2003. She is slightly over four seconds off from the national qualifying standard of 2:22.56.
The Aztecs will compete at the GCC Indoor Invitational on Saturday at Glendale Community College.
The Pima Community College men’s track & field team set four more NJCAA national qualifying marks on Saturday at the CAC Indoor Invitational held at Central Arizona College.
Abraham Valenzuela sets two more national qualifiers
The No. 8 ranked Aztec men’s track and field team has totaled 16 national qualifiers in the first three Indoor meets this season.
Sophomore Abraham Valenzuela (Palo Verde) set two more national qualifying times as he took first place in the 800-meter race with a time of 1 minute, 53.80 seconds. His time put him at No. 2 in Pima Indoor school history.
Valenzuela anchored the distance medley relay, as he along with freshman Louis Madrigal-Diaz, Alex Gallego and Wyatt Preble (Salpointe Catholic) earned a national qualifier with a time of 10:14.80.
Their finishing time put them at No. 2 in Pima Indoor school history and was the fastest time since 2013.
Valenzuela had set qualifying times in the one-mile race and the 3,000 meters from the previous two meets.
Freshman Darlington Onsarigo (Mica Mountain) set a national qualifier in the triple jump after he took second place with a mark of 14.29 meters (46-feet, 10.75-inches). He set his qualifier on the second attempt.
Freshman Adam McCoy earned his national qualifying mark after he took third place in the pole vault with a mark of 4.24 meters (13-11) on his third attempt.
·At the Mesa Multi’s Meet held on Friday, sophomores Dillon Arvayo (Mountain View) and Broden Cahoon improved on their national qualifying totals in the Heptathlon. Arvayo took second place with 4584 points; an improvement 4500 points set at the Jim Mielke Memorial Invitational. Cahoon claimed fourth place with 4395 points; up from 4326 points set at the same meet.
The Aztecs will compete at the GCC Indoor Invitational on Saturday at Glendale Community College.
The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (16-6, 11-4 in ACCAC) won its fourth straight game on Saturday in a hard-fought battle against Scottsdale Community College (11-8, 7-7).
Women’s hoops beats Scottsdale in overtime
The No. 17 ranked Aztecs women’s basketball team rallied to force overtime and went on to a 69-66 win over Scottsdale on Saturday at the Aztec West Gym.
After leading for much of the game, the Aztecs found themselves trailing 60-56 with 1:06 left in regulation as the Artichokes used a 7-0 run to take the lead.
Freshman Rylei Waugh went coast-to-coast to score on a layup to cut the deficit to two points as the Aztecs called timeout with 59.8 seconds left.
Pima got the ball back after a Scottsdale miss and Waugh again drove the lane and scored to tie it at 60-60.
After a Scottsdale turnover, the Aztecs had a final chance with 3.4 second left but Waugh missed her shot, and the game went to overtime.
Waugh and freshman Gabby Lopez (Bisbee) scored all of Pima’s nine points in the extra period. The Aztecs went 5 for 6 from the foul line.
The Aztecs and the Artichokes were tied at 11-11 after the first quarter but Pima went on an 11-2 run in the second quarter that was capped by freshman Rori Hoffmeyer’s three-point play to make it 22-13. Pima led 27-17 at the break.
The Aztecs held their biggest lead of the game at 34-23 after Waugh’s three-pointer with 8:06 remaining in the third quarter.
Waugh finished with a game-high 27 points as she went 11 for 19 from the field. She also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Sophomore Dominique Acosta (Nogales) posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds while Lopez finished with 10 points, three rebounds, three steals, two blocks and one assist.
Hoffmeyer added seven points and seven rebounds.
The Aztecs finished just 2 for 10 from 3-point range and got out-rebounded 54-41.
They will be back on the road on Wednesday for an ACCAC conference matchup at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.
Jaylen Alexander’s 30 points, 17 rebounds lead Pima to victory
The Pima men’s basketball team (19-3, 11-3 in ACCAC) picked up its fifth straight win on Saturday after taking control in the second half against Scottsdale(9-10, 5-9) at the Aztec West Gym.
The No. 18 Aztecs used a big second half to break away and beat the Artichokes 103-70 as they outscored Scottsdale 62-36 in the second half.
Up 64-56, sophomore Dillan Baker (Salpointe Catholic) hit a 3-pointer to get it to a double-digit lead at 67-56 with 10:40 left. Each team hit a free throw and the Artichokes called timeout with the score at 68-57 with 9:10 left.
The Aztecs turned it on as sophomore Jaylen Alexander and freshman Cohenj Gonzales converted on three-point plays that were part of a 22-5 run in almost eight and a half minutes as Pima took a 90-62 lead with 4:30 remaining. Their biggest lead was 33 points at the end of the game.
The game featured a total of 74 free throws. The Aztecs finished the game 33 for 41 (.805) from the foul line. Pima also won the battle under the glass at 62-32.
Alexander finished with a game-high 30 points on 9 for 14 shooting and 12 for 15 from the free throw line. He completed his double-double by added 17 rebounds. Alexander had 15 points and 11 boards after the first half of play.
Gonzales finished the game with 15 points after going 3 for 6 from the field and 9 for 10 from the foul line. Freshman Wes Ball (Marana) also added 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench. He was 4 for 5 from the field and 7 for 8 at the line.
Baker closed it out with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. Freshman Kota Benson contributed eight points, seven assists and four rebounds off the bench.
The Aztecs will play at South Mountain on Wednesday in an ACCAC conference game in Phoenix.
Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.
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