SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Roughrider offense came alive in the later innings in its victories on Tuesday afternoon against the No. 14-ranked Scottsdale Community College Artichokes, emerging victorious 8-3 and 8-4, respectively. 

"Good starting pitching kept us in the games," Head Coach Ryan Cougill said. "Our offense remained patient with quality at-bats, our defense made routine plays as well as a few very good plays and our bullpen kept leads safe. Those are great team wins against a good Scottsdale team."

Overall, Yavapai moves to 12-9-1 on the season with a 6-6 record within the conference. 

Game One
Freshman utility man Ben Zeigler started on the mound in game one and was stellar. Zeigler nearly went the distance with 6.1 innings pitched, three strikeouts and just three runs and three hits allowed. 

While Zeigler kept Scottsdale off the scoreboard through five, the Roughrider bats were also stymied out of the gate until an offensive explosion in the top of the sixth. 

Sophomore infielder Travis Warinner singled to start the frame and was followed by a walk from sophomore utility man JT Taylor to set the table. Redshirt-sophomore outfielder Sean Rimmer followed Taylor with an RBI single up the middle for the day's first run and moved over to second after freshman infielder Rocco Gump was hit by a pitch to load the bases. 

Up 1-0, sophomore outfielder Brycen Tambone walked with the bases loaded to bring home a run and with one out and the bases loaded, sophomore infielder Jo Stevens opened the floodgates with a bases-clearing three-run double to give the Roughriders a commanding 5-0 lead. 

The rally was far from over as sophomore catcher Alton Gyselman followed with an RBI single, sophomore infielder Kade York followed with an RBI double and Taylor doubled home a run, after a Warinner walk, to cap off an eight-run outburst. 

Up 8-0, Zeigler retired the Artichokes in order in the sixth and earned an out in the seventh before handing the ball to sophomore righty Jace Taylor. While three Scottsdale runs crossed the plate in the inning, Taylor recorded the final two outs to secure the 8-3 victory. 

At the plate, Rimmer and Stevens each had two hits while Warinner, Taylor, Gyselman and York each had one. 

Game Two
The timely hitting in the later innings theme continued in game two as the Roughriders found themselves in a 3-0 hole after the first inning. 

In the top of the third, Stevens cut into the lead with an RBI single, however, the Artichokes scored in the bottom of the fourth to keep their three-run advantage with a 4-1 score. 

In the top of the fifth inning with two-outs, the Roughriders rallied once more as Rimmer hit a solo homer to right field to cut the lead in half. The next batter, redshirt-sophomore outfielder Amari Bartee, tripled to right and came around to score on an inside-the-park homer from Stevens to tie the ballgame up at 4-4. 

After a scoreless bottom half of the fifth and scoreless sixth, the trio of Rimmer, Bartee and Stevens clutched up once more in the top of the seventh. 

This time, Taylor led the inning off with a double to right and came around to score on an RBI single from Rimmer. Bartee followed Rimmer with a single of his own and after the duo stole second and third, they both came around to score on a single off the bat of Stevens for a 7-4 YC lead. 

The Roughriders added an insurance run in the top of the ninth and kept Scottsdale scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to lock down the 8-4 victory and doubleheader sweep. 

On the mound, freshman utility man Barrett Skaugrud went four innings in the start, allowing just three earned runs while striking out four Artichokes. After Skaugrud, sophomore righty Ben Staiger pitched three scoreless and struck out five and fellow sophomore righty Tyler Davis pitched two scoreless and struck out five as well. 

Offensively, Rimmer led the way with four hits, Stevens had three, Taylor and Bartee had two and Warinner and freshman infielder Alex Ulloa each had one. 

Up Next
The Roughriders are back on the ball field on Saturday at home where they will take on the No. 12-ranked Phoenix College Bears in an ACCAC doubleheader. First pitch for game one is set for noon and live streaming and live stats will be available on GoRoughriders.com/Live.