After No. 7 Pima came up short Monday in its opening game of the NJCAA Division II Softball World Series, the Aztecs were faced with the daunting task of winning eight straight games to claim the championship.
Two down. Six to go.
The Aztecs rebounded Wednesday with victories of 6-3 over No. 20 Flint (Mich.) Mott and 9-1 in six innings against No. 4 Des Moines (Iowa) Area to stay alive in the tournament at Oxford, Ala.
Pima (50-8) will next play No. 9 Northwest Mississippi (44-11) on Thursday at 8 a.m., Tucson time. A victory would advance the Aztecs to the elimination-bracket quarterfinals later in the day at 4 p.m.
The Aztecs, who lost 2-1 in their opening game Monday against No. 10 Iowa Central, scored three times in the top of the seventh inning to pull away from Mott in the first game Wednesday.
With one out, Alyssa Noriega (Pueblo) hit a single and Natalya Rivera (Sunnyside) followed with a double. Julissa Lopez (Tucson) then walked to load the bases.
A fielder’s choice grounder by Cheyanne Ortiz (Tucson) forced Noriega out at home for the second out.
Amerika Lopez–Bedoy (Sunnyside) was hit by a pitch, allowing Rivera to score and put Pima ahead 4-3.
Clarissa Figueroa (Mountain View) followed with a two-run single to center field.
Jessica Thompson (Tanque Verde) retired the side with two strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh to secure the victory. She improved to 13-0 this season, allowing only three hits in 4 1/3 innings of relief. She struck out six and walked two.
Pima rallied from a 3-1 deficit after the third inning behind a sacrifice fly by Aubree Marx in the fourth inning that scored Figueroa (who hit a leadoff triple) and another sacrifice fly by Lopez in the fifth that scored pinch-runner Taiya Teixeira (Salpointe). Teixeira was on third following a double by Noriega and sacrifice bunt by Rivera.
Noriega finished 3 for 4 with a double and Figueroa went 3 for 3 with a triple, run and three RBIs. Marx was 2 for 4 with an RBI and Ortiz went 1 for 4 with two runs and triple. Rivera finished 1 for 2 with a run and a double.
In the win over Des Moines, Pima again rallied from behind, trailing 1-0 going into the bottom of the third inning.
An RBI single by Jiselle Nuñez (Tucson) and two-run double by Noriega in the third inning put Pima ahead for good, 3-1.
Pima rallied for three runs in the fifth and sixth innings to pull away.
In the fifth inning, Rivera hit an RBI single and a fielding error later in the inning allowed two more runs to score.
The Aztecs walked it off in the bottom of the sixth, after Figueroa reached on an error and Martin and Marx each hit a single to load the bases. A bases-loaded walk by Nunez forced in a run and was followed by an RBI single by Noriega. Rivera’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Marx for the winning run.
Arianna Flores (Salpointe) scattered seven hits in six innings and allowed one unearned run. She struck out seven and walked four in the win that improved her record to 22-4.
Nuñez was 2 for 3 with two RBIs while Noriega was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a double. Rivera was 1 for 4 with a run, stolen base and two RBIs. Marx finished 1 for 4 with three runs and Martin was 1 for 3 with two runs.
Noriega was 5 for 7 with two doubles and three RBIs combined in Tuesday’s two wins.
Recommended for you
