Pima’s baseball team is on the brink of advancing to the ACCAC Division I, Region I championship series after pulling off a 7-6 win against Arizona Western in the first game of a best-of-three semifinal series on Thursday at West Campus Aztec Field.
The Aztecs, seeded second, improved their record to 43-14 with the win, while No. 3 seed Arizona Western fell to 37-16. The two teams will face off again on Friday at 2 p.m. for Game 2 of the series.
In the other semifinal matchup, No. 4 seed South Mountain pulled off a stunning upset over top-seeded Central Arizona with a 14-6 victory. Game 2 of their series is also scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m.
If Pima wins their game and South Mountain manages to defeat Central Arizona, the Aztecs would get to host the region championship series.
Thursday’s game saw Pima overcoming a 4-0 deficit after the first inning. The score was tied at 6 in the bottom of the seventh when David Shackelford hit a leadoff solo home run to left field, breaking the deadlock and giving Pima the lead.
The Aztecs had started to chip away at Arizona Western’s lead in the third inning. Jontae Hennessy’s RBI single with two outs brought in Elijah Reeves, who had walked earlier. The Aztecs then erupted for a four-run fourth inning to take a 5-4 lead. Shackelford, Kito Castro, and Antonio Avila all hit singles to load the bases, and Caleb Herd’s walk forced in Shackelford. Reeves then drove in two more runs with a single to tie the game. Herd scored on a fielder’s choice, putting Pima ahead.
Pima stretched their lead to 6-4 in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Herd, but Arizona Western rallied in the sixth to tie the game at 6-6. Shackelford’s game-winning homer in the seventh ultimately made the difference.
Garrett Hicks (6-1) secured the win for Pima, pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief. He allowed just one hit, struck out one batter, and didn’t issue any walks. Hicks also closed the game by retiring the side in the ninth inning.
Pima had a total of 12 hits, with five players recording at least two each. Hennessy led with three hits, while Reeves, Shackelford, Senior, and Castro each had two hits.
Diego Alvarez started on the mound for Pima, pitching 5 1/3 innings and allowing nine hits, five earned runs, with four strikeouts and a walk. He earned a no-decision for his efforts.
