The Pima Community College softball team closed its season series with rival South Mountain in Phoenix on Saturday, gaining a split with three wins apiece after each team won a game in a doubleheader.
No. 7 Pima (39-6, 31-5 ACCAC) had its 15-game winning streak snapped with a 2-1 loss in the second game after the Aztecs ended the Mustangs’ 18-game winning streak with a 6-4 victory in the first game.
Pima maintained its two-game lead over South Mountain (38-11, 29-7) in the ACCAC Division II standings with each team having six conference games remaining in the regular season.
Pima freshman Izabel Rodriguez (Walden Grove) went 4 for 9 with an RBI and a run in the two games Saturday.
Fellow freshman Kayla Hendrix (Canyon del Oro) finished 4 for 6 with a run. Freshman Soleil Ponce (Sunnyside) went 3 for 7 with an RBI and a run while sophomore Jiselle Nunez (Tucson) had an RBI single and a run.
Freshman Adriana Machado (Canyon del Oro) and sophomore Sariah Ferrentino (Sabino) got the decisions in the circle.
Game 1: (7) Pima 6, (10) South Mountain 4
The Aztecs took the lead with three runs in the fourth inning and held off a seventh-inning rally.
They loaded the bases with one out. Sophomore Julissa Lopez (Tucson) and Nunez drew back-to-back walks to put the Aztecs up 3-1. Lopez scored on a fielder’s choice play to cap the inning.
Pima had runners on second and third base with one out in the seventh inning. Freshman Isabel Mendoza (Cienega) grounded out to second, which scored Ponce. Rodriguez followed with an RBI single to drive in pinch-runner Ferrentino to make it 6-3.
The Cougars stranded a runner at third base to end the game.
Rodriguez finished the game 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run. Ponce hit an RBI single in the first inning and went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run. Lopez had an RBI single and scored twice. Hendrix finished 2 for 3 with a run and freshman Angelina Dehler (Empire) had an RBI single.
Machado picked up the win as she pitched four innings, giving up three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk on 55 pitches.
Sophomore Belen Camacho (Pueblo) got the save as she pitched the final three innings, giving up one run on five hits with three strikeouts and one walk on 45 pitches.
Game 2: (10) South Mountain 2, (7) Pima 1
Pima tied the game at 1 in the second inning. The Aztecs loaded the bases with one out as Nunez scored on a fielder’s choice ball hit by sophomore Amerika Lopez-Bedoy (Sunnyside) but it was all Pima could manage.
The Cougars took the lead for good with a run in the fourth inning. The Aztecs stranded two runners on base in the seventh inning as sophomore Clarissa Figueroa (Mountain View) flew out to center field to end the game. The Aztecs stranded seven runners on base for the game.
Lopez-Bedoy finished with an RBI single while Nunez had a run. Hendrix was 2 for 3. Ponce and Rodriguez each had one hit.
Ferrentino took the loss as she pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and three walks on 97 pitches.
The Aztecs have eight games overall remaining in the regular season; the next six will be at the West Campus Aztec Field.
They will host Scottsdale on Tuesday in an ACCAC doubleheader. First game starts at 12:00 p.m.
Recommended for you
