PHOENIX – The Yavapai College baseball team headed to the valley on Tuesday afternoon for a doubleheader against the South Mountain Community College Cougars and, after dropping a heartbreaker in game one, earned a split with a victory in game two. 

On the season, the Roughriders are now 8-10 overall and 2-6 in conference play. 

Game One
Freshman outfielder Mason Saint Hilarie got the Roughriders off to a great start in game one with a solo shot in the first for an early YC lead. After briefly trailing, Saint Hilarie was at it again in the top of the third as he brought home a run with a sacrifice fly to even things up at 2-2. 

South Mountain took the lead once more in the bottom of the fifth with a run and led YC 3-2 after five while needing just six outs to win the seven-inning affair. 

YC had other plans, however, and rallied in the top of the sixth and tied the game on an RBI single from freshman infielder Nick Miller and took the lead on an RBI single from sophomore outfielder Nolan Sparks. 

Unfortunately for the Roughriders, South Mountain took the lead for the third and final time in game one with an eight spot in the bottom of the sixth to take a commanding 11-4 lead into the seventh while needing just three outs to secure the win. 

YC would plate a run in the inning, however, the Roughriders eventually fell 11-5. Miller, Sparks and sophomore infielder Riley Nelson all tallied two hits in the game while Saint Hilarie, freshman infielder Elias Avila and sophomore infielder Quinn Allen all tallied one. 

Game Two
YC started off on the right foot once more in game two with an RBI single from sophomore catcher Luke Moeller and RBI double from Sparks in the top of the second inning to give the Roughriders a 2-0 lead. 

After the Cougars cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second, sophomore outfielder Ryan Pruitt got the run back in the top of the third with an RBI triple and YC led 3-1 after three. 

In the bottom of the fourth, South Mountain was able to push two runs across to tie things up, however, the seesaw battle quickly became a stalemate as the teams traded zeros in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

In the eighth, it was the Roughrider who broke through and it came in a big way as Nelson stepped up to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. Nelson promptly drove the first pitch he saw to the wall for a bases-clearing double to regain the lead for YC at 6-3. 

After Nelson's clutch hit, the Roughriders were able to hold the Cougars to just one run over the final two frames to secure the 6-4 victory and earn the split on the day. 

Freshman pitcher Traig Oughton started for the Roughriders and pitched five innings of three-run ball while tallying four strikeouts. Sophomore pitcher Kansai Sugimoto picked up the win after relieving Oughton with four innings of one-run ball while striking out two. 

At the plate, Sparks and Pruitt led the way with three hits apiece while Nelson and Miller each collected two. Freshman outfielder Nate Nichols, sophomore catcher Wailele Kane-Yates and Moeller each finished with one. 

Up Next
The Roughriders are back on the ballfield on Saturday, March 2, at home where they will host the Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters with game one of the doubleheader set for a noon start.