The Pima Community College baseball team secured its second straight season with at least 40 wins on Saturday after earning a sweep on the road at Cochise College in Douglas.
Before the 2023 season, the No. 16 Aztecs (40-12, 24-10 in ACCAC) did not achieve 40-plus wins in a season since 1991.
The Aztecs, who beat Cochise 11-2 and 8-4, have won 18 of their last 22 games and have four games left in the regular season.
They play their final regular-season home doubleheader at the West Campus Aztec Field on Tuesday against Arizona Western. First game starts at noon.
Sophomore Brant Kragel finished the day 2 for 6 with two RBIs, two runs and two walks. Fellow sophomore Nick Arias (Tucson) went 3 for 7 with an RBI and three runs. Freshman Collin Senior was 2 for 7 with three RBIs, two runs and a walk. Sophomores J.T. Drake and Garrett Hicks got the wins on the mound against Cochise (33-21, 20-16).
Game 1: (16) Pima 11, Cochise 2: The Aztecs scored nine straight runs to take the lead.
Kragel tied it at 1-1 in the second inning with a groundout to score freshman Nolan Ganter.
Freshman Ray Jesse and sophomore Jontae Hennesy scored on a couple of fielder’s choice plays and Kragel hit an RBI single to score Ganter to make it 4-1 in the third inning.
Jesse hit a two-run single scoring Kragel and sophomore Ruben Castro (Tucson) in the fifth inning to put Pima up 6-1.
Castro cleared the bases in the sixth with a three-run double, bringing around Arias, Senior and sophomore David Shackelford as Pima led 9-1.
Ganter capped off the Pima scoring in the seventh inning with a two-run double as he finished the game 2 for 3 with two RBIs, two runs and a walk.
Castro finished 2 for 2 with three RBIs and a run while Kragel was 1 for 3 with two RBIs, a run and a walk.
Jesse went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run and Senior was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs. Arias finished 1 for 2 with two runs and two walks.
Drake got the win as he pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits with five strikeouts on 92 pitches.
Game 2: (16) Pima 8, Cochise 4: The Aztecs fell behind early but scored six straight runs to take the lead for good and earn the sweep.
Down 2-0 in the third inning, the Aztecs scored three runs in the top of the inning. Shackelford led off with a triple and was driven in by sophomore Antonio Avila, who hit a triple of his own to put Pima on the board.
Hennesy hit an RBI single to score Avila, and Senior hit a sacrifice-fly RBI to bring in sophomore Caleb Herd (Cienega). The Aztecs took a 3-2 lead.
They added to it in the fourth inning with another three runs.
Shackelford went deep to left field on a 1-1 count for the three-run shot. He scored Kragel and Castro as Pima led 6-2.
The Apaches rallied off two runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning.
The Aztecs countered with Arias drilling a solo home run to left field in the seventh inning to make it 7-4.
Shackelford finished the game 3 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs while Senior had two RBIs and a walk. Avila went 1 for 4 with an RBI and two runs and Arias was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run. Herd finished 2 for 3 with a run.
Hicks came in for relief and picked up the win after throwing 5 1/3 innings, giving up two hits with three strikeouts.
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