Members of Arizona’s coaching staff when Jerry Stitt was the head coach from 1997 to 2001 were present Thursday when Pima Community College hosted Paradise Valley in the first game of the best-of-three NJCAA Region I, Division semifinal series.
Stitt, now the executive assistant athletic director at Pima, sat behind home plate, where he looked to his left and saw Paradise Valley coach Victor Solis and over to his right, Pima coach Ken Jacome.
Solis (a Douglas native) and Jacome, part of Stitt’s staff with the Wildcats, led their teams against each other in the game at West Campus Aztec Field.
“We’re both competitors; we both want to win, but at the end of the day, we’re really good friends,” said Jacome, whose team prevailed 9-5. “We have a lot of respect for each other.”
Stitt was quick to point out Solis and Jacome were coaching in each dugout and mentioned it was “special” to see them succeeding.
.@BaseballPima coach @kjacome22 talks about his team rallying from 3-0 and 5-2 deficits to beat Paradise Valley 9-5 in the first game of the best-of-three NJCAA Region I, Division II semifinal series. Jacome also discusses coaching against Paradise Valley’s Victor Solis, a… pic.twitter.com/AaA5Nv3Ch2
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 2, 2025
Their teams engaged in a competitive game to open the series, which resumes with Game 2 on Friday afternoon at Aztec Field at 2 p.m. If Pima (46-11) wins, it advances to the NJCAA Region I, Division II championship series against either No. 1 South Mountain or No. 4 Chandler-Gilbert.
If the Aztecs lose to Paradise Valley (35-19), a deciding third game will be Saturday at noon at Aztec Field.
Down by three runs two separate times Thursday, including in the bottom of the fifth inning, Pima did not panic.
The early deficit brought the second-seeded Aztecs more together.
“No stress at all; no worries,” Pima cleanup hitter Jackson Glueck described the mood of the dugout through the first 5 1/3 innings. “It happens. We get nine innings for a reason.”
.@BaseballPima freshman cleanup batter @glueck_jackson of Kansas City belted a two-run HR in the seventh inning that gave the Aztecs their first lead of the game (7-5) in their 9-5 victory over Paradise Valley in the first game of the NJCAA Region I, Division II best-of-three… pic.twitter.com/NSSZIbEuOz
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 2, 2025
A two-run double by former Arizona player Zach Plasschaert and RBI single by Leon Cereceres in the sixth inning tied the game at 5.
In the seventh, Glueck delivered his sixth home run of the season, a no-doubter to right field for the left-handed batter. The blast off John Witt (5-2) also scored Nolan Ganter, who led off the inning with an infield single that was a pop up the pitcher and first baseman could not put a glove on.
Pima led for the first time, 7-5.
“Definitely energy — the guys want to keep the energy in the dugout up,” Glueck said about the rally. “Keeps everyone light. Keeps you out of your head, makes you play free and easy.”
The Aztecs added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning after the first three batters reached base — Ernie Alvarez (Canyon del Oro) and Ramon Martinez walked and Cereceres singled.
Alvarez scored on a double-play groundout and Martinez came home on a passed ball.
The four-run cushion matched with the shut-down pitching of Nogales alum Sal Valenzuela was too much for Paradise Valley to overcome.
.@ApacheBaseball1 lefty alum @Sal_Valenzuela1 got the win in relief in the Aztecs’ 9-5 win over Paradise Valley in the first game of the NJCAA Region I, Division II semifinal series. Valenzuela pitched the last three innings and allowed only one hit while striking out three and… pic.twitter.com/ZNa4J8w7qg
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 2, 2025
Valenzuela (4-4) allowed only one hit in his three innings of work. He struck out three and walked two in the victory.
“I felt very confident,” said Valenzuela, a left-hander whose ERA is at 2.67 in 30 1/3 innings. “I spent the whole day preparing, stretching and doing my routine. I was able to come in and dominate and try to finish the game.”
He completely silenced Paradise Valley’s bats. The Pumas had eight hits in the first six innings. They did not advance a baserunner beyond first base with Valenzuela on the mound.
“Sal’s been great,” Jacome said. “He got hurt early in the year. We had to pull him out of the rotation but since he’s come back healthy, he’s pitched out of our bullpen. That’s what he’s done. He’s been able to come in and put up zeros and give our team a chance to come back or continue to win the game.
“He’s been outstanding. Happy to see him do well.”
Glueck finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs while Plasschaert went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run.
Ganter went 2 for 5 with two runs and Cereceres was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Collin Senior and Sean Barta each had an RBI and a run while Alvarez finished 2 for 3 with a run.
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
Recommended for you
