The No. 23 Pima Community College baseball team opened the 2025 season with a 5-4 victory on Friday in the first game of a four-game series with the College of Southern Idaho at the West Campus Aztec Baseball Field.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning but were held in check by sophomore Maclain Roberts for the next three innings as he gave up just a hit and a hit by pitch.
The Aztecs countered in the fourth inning with patience at the plate. They loaded the bases with a single and two walks.
Sophomore Ray Jesse and freshman Quintin Hennesy drew back-to-back walks to score sophomore Collin Senior and sophomore Nolan Ganter respectively.
Freshman Ramon Martinez was hit-by-a-pitch, which scored freshman Max Leyva (Tucson) to put Pima ahead 3-2.
Sophomore Caden Richards drew another bases loaded walk to bring in Jesse as the Aztecs took a 4-2 lead after generating five walks in the inning.
The Golden Eagles cut into Pima’s lead with a run in the fifth inning but the Aztecs got it back after freshman Sean Barta hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to make it 5-3.
Southern Idaho made it a one-game again in the eighth inning.
Sophomore Seth Lee held the Golden Eagles in check in the ninth inning to get the save as he got two strikeouts and a pop up on just 17 pitches to close out the game.
The Aztecs managed just three hits for the game but had 10 walks.
Ganter finished 2 for 3 with a run and Senior was 1 for 5 with an RBI. Richards and Barta each had an RBI while Jesses closed out the game with two runs and two walks. Hennesy had four walks and an RBI.
Sophomore Maclain Roberts picked up the win as he pitched four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four strikeouts and two walks.
The Aztecs will return Saturday to the West Campus Aztec Field with a doubleheader against the Golden Eagles. First game starts at 11:00 a.m.
SOFTBALL
The 15th-ranked Pima softball team opened its season on Friday as well, playing in the College of Southern Nevada Kickoff Classic.
Sophomore Natalya Rivera (Sunnyside) finished the day 6 for 7 at the plate with four RBIs and four runs.
Freshman Amerika Lopez-Bedoy (Sunnyside) was 4 for 7 with five RBIs and two runs while sophomore Alyssa Noriega (Pueblo) went 4 for 6 with an RBI and four runs.
Freshman Belen Camacho (Pueblo) picked up a win and a save. Sophomore Nevaeh Bracamonte got the win in the second game.
Game 1: Pima 9, Utah State-Eastern 7: The Aztecs rallied with a six-run fifth inning to take the lead for good.
The Aztecs trailed 6-3 going into the bottom-half of the fifth inning. They drew two straight walks and got a single to load the bases with no outs. Freshman Julissa Lopez (Tucson) hit a two-run RBI double to score sophomore Aubrey Marx (Cienega) and Camacho. Rivera followed with an RBI double to bring around Noriega and tie the game at 6.
Sophomore Cheyanne Ortiz (Tucson) drew a bases-loaded walk to score Lopez to put the Aztecs ahead for good. Freshman Clarissa Figueroa (Mountain View) added some insurance with a two-run RBI double to bring in Rivera and Lopez-Bedoy as the Aztecs went up 9-6.
Lopez finished the game 3 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs while Rivera was 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a run. Ortiz hit an RBI single in the second inning and went 1 for 2 with two RBIs. Figueroa was also 1 for 2 with two RBIs. Noriega finished 2 for 2 with two runs and two walks.
Camacho picked up the win in a relief appearance as she pitched five innings, giving up four runs (four earned) on four hits with seven strikeouts and five walks on 110 pitches.
Game 2: Pima 12, No. 8 College of Southern Idaho 9: The Aztecs took an early lead but were forced to rally for the second straight game as they beat an NJCAA Division I national-ranked opponent.
The Aztecs got their offense clicking in the first inning as freshman Jiselle Nunez (Tucson) and Lopez each hit RBI doubles in the inning. Lopez-Bedoy drove a two-run RBI triple to score Lopez and Rivera that capped off the four-run inning.
Lopez-Bedoy came through again in the third inning with a two-run RBI double to plate Noriega and Rivera to put the Aztecs ahead 6-0.
The fourth inning belonged to the Golden Eagles as they scored eight runs to take the lead.
The Aztecs went off in the fifth inning to retake at 11-8.
Rivera hit a two-run home run on the first pitch to tie the game at 8. Figueroa put Pima ahead for good with an RBI double to bring around Lopez-Bedoy. Marx capped off the scoring with a two-run RBI double to score Ortiz and Figueroa.
Rivera went 3 for 3 with two RBIs and three runs while Lopez-Bedoy was 3 for 4 with four RBIs and a run. Noriega finished 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs while Marx was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and a run. Nunez, Lopez and Figueroa each had an RBI and a run.
Bracamonte got the win and Camacho picked up the save.
The Aztecs will play another two games on Saturday as part of the College of Southern Nevada Kickoff Classic. They face Snow College at 10:30 a.m. and Arizona Western at 3:30 p.m.
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