The Pima Community College softball team opened play Monday at the NJCAA Division II World Series at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., and the No. 7 Aztecs fell to No. 10 Iowa Central 2-1.
The Aztecs (50-8) will play in the elimination bracket Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., Tucson time, against an opponent to be determined.
Pima had one final chance in the bottom of the seventh inning but could not score against Iowa Central (48-10).
With one out, sophomore Natalya Rivera (Sunnyside) and freshman Julissa Lopez (Tucson) hit back-to-back singles. Sophomore Jessica Thompson (Tanque Verde) struck out and sophomore Cheyanne Ortiz (Tucson) flied out to shallow right field to end the game.
The Tritons broke a scoreless game in the top of the fifth inning when sophomore pitcher Jayda Long hit an RBI single to center field. Long helped her own cause again in the top of the seventh with an RBI double to center field. Sophomore Kennedy Palmer scored both runs.
The Aztecs tied the game in the sixth inning when freshman Clarissa Figueroa (Mountain View) found the gap in center field for a double with one out. Sophomore Talia Martin (Mountain View) reached base on a single to right field. Sophomore Aubrey Marx (Cienega) tied it at 1 with a sacrifice fly to left field bringing in Figueroa from third base.
The Pima offense struggled in the early going. They managed one hit in the first four innings and went down in order in three of them. The Aztecs outhit the Tritons 6-4 for the game.
Lopez finished the game 2 for 3 while Martin, Rivera and Ortiz each went 1 for 3. Figueroa was 1 for 2 with a run and Marx finished 0 for 2 with an RBI.
Freshman Arianna Flores (Salpointe) took the loss and is 21-4. She pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits with five strikeouts and five walks on 120 pitches.
Long (22-4) pitched seven innings, giving up one run on six hits with nine strikeouts, which included two RBIs.
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