TUCSON, Ariz. – The Yavapai College baseball team battled the Pima Community College Aztecs on the road on a windy Tuesday afternoon in a couple of close contests and ultimately fell 3-2 and 12-5, respectively. The pair of losses in YC's conference opener drops its overall record to 3-5 and conference record to 0-2. 

Game One
Freshman righty Dillon Orr went toe-to-toe with Pima's sophomore lefty Anthony Imhoff in game one's pitcher's duel and, though he was eventually outdueled, was brilliant. The freshman went 5.1 innings and gave up three runs and eight hits while striking out six. 

In the bottom of the first, Pima grabbed a quick 1-0 lead after pushing a run across on a sacrifice fly. 

After a quiet second inning from both teams, the Roughriders made some noise in the top of the third as freshman outfielder Nolan Sparks singled with two outs to put runners on first and third with sophomore outfielder Jude Hall coming to the plate. 

Hall then sent a jolt through the Roughrider dugout with a two-run triple to the right-center gap that gave YC a 2-1 lead. 

The Aztecs, however, wasted no time and tied the game in the bottom of the third to make it a 2-2 ballgame. 

In the top of the fourth, the Roughriders loaded the bases but were unable to cash in on the opportunity. In the bottom of the fifth, the Aztecs threatened with runners on first and second and two outs, however, Orr froze Pima's hitter with a perfectly-spotted breaking ball to end the threat. 

Tied 2-2 and heading into the last two innings, Pima was able to tally a couple of 1-2-3 innings defensively against the Roughriders and push a run across in the bottom of the sixth with a trio of singles to earn the 3-2 victory in the ballgame. 

Sparks, Hall and freshman infielder Pierce Radke each tallied a hit apiece for the only Roughrider hits of game one. Sophomore righty Tommy Groom also pitched 0.2 innings of scoreless relief in game one. 

Game Two
The second matchup of the day did not feature a pitcher's duel and instead saw the Aztecs score two runs in the bottom of the first and second innings to take a quick 4-0 lead. 

In the top of the fourth, the Roughriders cut the Pima lead in half with a pair of runs, however, the Aztecs pushed two more across in the bottom of the frame to regain their four-run lead. 

The Roughriders were relentless, however, and saw sophomore outfielder Blake Jacklin hit a solo homer in the top of the fifth and freshman infielder Quinn Allen hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to cut the Pima lead to just 6-5. 

Once more, however, the Aztecs responded to YC's offense with a two-spot of their own in the bottom of the sixth and led 8-5 going into the last three innings. 

The Roughriders threatened to cut the lead once more in the top of the seventh with runners on second and third with just one out but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat and kept the score static. 

The Aztecs took advantage of the shutdown and pushed four runs across in the bottom of the eighth to take a commanding 12-5 lead that would prove to be the final for game two. 

At the plate in game two, freshman catcher Wailele Kane-Yates and sophomore infielder Mitch Wood each tallied three hits while Sparks, Jacklin, Allen and freshman outfielder Danny Schweistzer each tallied one. 

Up Next
The Roughriders are back on the ballfield on Saturday, February 18, in Douglas, Arizona, where they will take on the No. 13-ranked Cochise College Apaches with game one's first pitch set for noon.