Pima Community College’s hopes to win the ACCAC Division II regular season title — and host the regional tournament as the No. 1 seed — went down to the very last inning of the final game before the postseason Saturday.
After a 13-11 loss in the first game of the doubleheader at Phoenix College, the Aztecs pulled out an 11-7 victory in the second game.
Pima (44-7, 36-6 ACCAC) was faced with challenge of having to win the second game against Phoenix (37-11, 31-11) to avoid having to travel to South Mountain for the NJCAA Region I, Division II tournament.
The Aztecs will be the second game on Thursday, when they play No. 4 Scottsdale at 2 p.m. The first game will be No. 2 South Mountain vs. No. 3 Phoenix College at 11 a.m. All Region I, Division II tournament games, in the double-elimination tournament, will be played at the West Campus Aztec Field.
Freshman Soleil Ponce (Sunnyside) finished 6 for 9 with four RBIs and two runs in the two games Saturday. Freshman Angelina Dehler (Empire) webt 4 for 7 with five RBIs and a run scored while sophomore Jiselle Nunez (Tucson) went 2 for 5 with five RBIs, two runs and four walks.
Sophomore Julissa Lopez (Tucson) finished 3 for 8 with four RBIs and four runs. Sophomore Amerika Lopez-Bedoy (Sunnyside) was 5 for 8 with two RBIs and two runs. Sophomore Clarissa Figueroa (Mountain View) contributed by going 2 for 6 with five runs and four walks.
Sophomore Belen Camacho (Pueblo) went 1-1 as she got both decisions in the circle.
·Game 1: (16) Phoenix 13, (7) Pima 11
The teams went back and forth. The Bears scored five runs in the sixth inning and the Pima rally in the seventh inning fell short.
Lopez put the Aztecs ahead 8-7 in the fifth inning with a three-run homer to center field to score Lopez-Bedoy and freshman Kayla Hendrix (Canyon del Oro).
The Bears countered with five runs in the bottom of the sixth as Phoenix’s Gianna Baca hit a grand slam as part of the inning.
The Aztecs loaded the bases with three straight walks to start the seventh inning. Dehler hit a line drive to right field to bring in Figueroa and Lopez to put the score at 13-10.
Ponce followed with a fielder’s choice that brought in freshman Tayah Lyons. Two straight strikeouts and a fielder’s choice at second base ended the game.
Nunez hit a three-run homer in the first inning and drew a bases-loaded walk in the second inning.
She finished with four RBIs, a run and three walks. Lopez went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs while Ponce hit an RBI single to tie the game at 5 in the fourth inning and was 3 for 5 with two RBIs.
Figueroa was 1 for 2 with three runs and three walks. Dehler finished 1 for 3 with two RBIs and two walks and Hendrix went 1 for 4 with two runs.
Camacho took the loss in relief as she pitched two innings, giving up six runs on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk on 48 pitches.
Game 2: (7) Pima 11, (16) Phoenix 7
The Aztecs fell behind in the first inning but chipped away and used a big seventh inning to earn the split.
With the score tied at 5-5, the Aztecs scored six runs in the seventh inning to take the lead for good.
Lyons led off with a double and scored on a fielder’s choice play to home plate. Nunez hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in freshman Isabel Rodriguez (Walden Grove). Dehler followed with a two-run single to center field, scoring Figueroa and Lopez to make it 9-5.
Ponce added some insurance with her RBI triple to left field, driving in Dehler, and Lopez-Bedoy had Pima’s third straight run-scoring hit, bringing in Ponce.
Phoenix’s Harli Noriega hit a two-run homer in the seventh, but Camacho got three straight outs to end the game.
Freshman Isabel Mendoza (Cienega) put the Aztecs on the board with a two-run double in the second inning.
The Aztecs took the lead with three runs in the fourth inning. Dehler and Lopez-Bedoy were both hit by pitches with the bases loaded, and Ponce hit an RBI single as the Aztecs took a 5-4 lead. The Bears tied it with a run in the sixth.
Dehler, Ponce and Lopez-Bedoy (the No. 5, 6, 7 hitters in the lineup) went a combined 9 for 12 with seven RBIs and four runs as they each went 3 for 4 in the game.
Mendoza finished 1 for 3 with two RBIs while Lopez was 1 for 4 with an RBI and two runs. Figueroa finished 1 for 4 with two runs and Nunez went 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run.
Camacho (15-3) made her second relief appearance of the day and got the win, pitching four innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits with four strikeouts and three walks on 68 pitches.
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