Information from Pima College’s media-relations department contributed to this report:
The No. 3 Pima College baseball team rallied on two occasions to take Game One of the NJCAA Region I, Division I semifinals to defeat No. 2 South Mountain 5-4 in Phoenix, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
The Aztecs (42-15) and the Cougars (43-14) will play Game Two on Friday at South Mountain at 2 p.m.
Down 4-2 in the eighth inning, sophomore Andrew Stucky(Canyon del Oro grad) hit a lead-off single.
Sophomore Hunter Faildodrew a walk to put two on base. With one out, freshman David Shackelfordloaded the bases after he drew a walk. Sophomore Rocco Gump, son of former Arizona second baseman Chris Gump, hit a sacrifice-fly RBI to bring in Stucky to cut it to 4-3.
Sophomore Braedon Mondeau(Cienega) put the Aztecs ahead for good with a two-run single to score Faildo and Shackelford.
Freshman closer J.T. Drakepitched the final two innings and got a 6-4-3 double play to end the eighth inning. He got a 4-6-3 double play in the ninth as the Cougars stranded two on base to end the game.
The Aztecs trailed 2-0 when South Mountain’s Jared Glinskihit a two-run homer.
They cut into the lead when Benji Cazares(Tucson High) hit an RBI single in the fourth inning to plate sophomore Gage Mestas, who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
In the sixth inning, Mestas drew a lead-off walk, and with one out, Cazares tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single to score Mestas once again.
The Cougars took the lead with two runs in the seventh inning off a sacrifice-fly RBI by Sam Christiansenand an RBI single by Core Jackson.
Cazares finished the game 2 for 4 with two RBIs while Mondeau went 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Mestas scored two runs and had two steals. Stucky was 2 for 5 with a run and Faildo went 1 for 4 with a run.
Sophomore Wyatt Hardypicked up the win after pitching one-third of an inning and Drake got the save after throwing the final two innings, giving up two hits with one walk. Sophomore Matt Corneliusgot the start as he pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs (both earned) on four hits with three strikeouts and four walks.
PCC 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 5 8 1SMCC 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 9 1
W – Hardy (1-0). S- Drake (1). 2B: Stucky. SB: Mestas 2, Garcia, Mondeau
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