PRESCOTT, Ariz. – The Yavapai College baseball team took on the South Mountain Community College Cougars on Saturday afternoon and left Roughrider Park with a split, losing 6-4 in game one and winning 9-6 in game two. The Roughriders are now 34-15-1 overall this season with a 22-12 conference record. 

Game One
The Roughriders fell into a 6-0 hole in game one as the Cougars scored three runs in the top of the second and three runs in the top of the fifth. 

In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore utility man JT Taylor hit a moonshot three-run homer to cut the deficit to 6-3. The Roughriders threatened again in the bottom of the seventh as freshman infielder Alex Ulloa picked up an RBI single with two outs and two men on base to trim the deficit to just two. 

The next batter, however, was retired and South Mountain won the ballgame. 

On the mound, sophomore righty Jace Taylor and redshirt-freshman righty Ryan Scott both logged scoreless innings out of the bullpen. 

At the plate, Taylor led the way with two hits while redshirt-sophomore outfielder Sean Rimmer, sophomore utility man Jo Stevens, freshman infielder Rocco Gump, Ulloa, freshman catcher Cade Westerlund and sophomore infielder Kade York all had one hit with York's being a double. 

Game Two
The second game of the afternoon did not feature a hot start for the Roughriders as they had to mount a comeback to leave the ballpark with a split. 

Despite an RBI groundout from Taylor in the first and RBI single from Rimmer in the third, Yavapai found itself in a 5-2 hole after South Mountain scored twice in the first and fourth and once in the second. 

Trailing by three, the Roughriders made their move in the bottom of the fifth. Rimmer started the rally with a one-out solo homer (his conference-leading 18th longball of the season) to cut the deficit to two. Three batters later and with two outs, the Roughriders scored on a South Mountain error to bring the score to 5-4. 

Ulloa, the next hitter, walked to put two men on base with two outs and York coming to the plate. York promptly smoked an RBI double to right and after a nifty slide from Ulloa, the Roughriders led 6-5. 

In the bottom of the sixth, sophomore infielder Travis Warinner added an insurance run with an opposite-field solo homer that put YC up 7-5. 

Down two, the Cougars never gave up and were poised to rally in the top of the seventh had it not been for a stellar, heads-up defensive play from the Roughrider shortstop Kade York. 

With one out and a runner on first, Brain Leon of South Mountain slapped a single to left field, however, the runner at first hesitated, instead of moving to second base on the play, as he saw York jump in the air and act as if he caught a line drive out. 

York's deke move stalled the runner and gave the left fielder (JT Taylor) plenty of time to throw the South Mountain runner out at second, giving the Roughriders a man on first with two outs instead of men on first and second with one out. 

And while the next Cougar doubled and brought in a run, the Roughriders were able to retire the following batter and limit the damage to just one run while keeping a 7-6 lead. 

With momentum now wearing green and gold, Stevens added some insurance with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh and later came around to score on a double-steal attempt that put YC up 9-6. 

South Mountain was then held off the scoreboard in the top of the eighth and ninth innings to clinch the game-two victory and secure a split. 

On the mound, sophomore righty Ben Staiger and freshman righty Cayden Collins both made scoreless appearances out of the bullpen with Collins striking out four in two innings of work. 

At the plate, York led the way with a perfect 4-for-4 effort that featured two doubles and two RBIs. Warinner, Rimmer, freshman utility man Ben Zeigler and sophomore catcher Alton Gyselman all had two hits while Taylor, Stevens and Gump all had one. 

Up Next
The Roughriders are back on the diamond on Tuesday, April 26, at home against the Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters. Game one's first pitch is set for noon.