PRESCOTT, Ariz. – Another wild day of baseball took place at Roughrider Park on Saturday afternoon as the Yavapai College baseball team walked off the GateWay Community College Geckos twice in its weekend sweep, a 13-3 run-rule walkoff in game one and 12-11 come-from-behind walkoff in game two. 

"These victories weren't just about the score," Head Coach Patrick Woods said after the games. "They were a testament to the heart and spirit of this incredible group of athletes. I couldn't be prouder of their collective effort and resilience in the face of adversity. Roughrider strong!"

The sweep of GateWay pushes YC's win streak to five and the Roughriders have won nine of their last 12. 

Game One
Freshman pitcher Traig Oughton got the start on the bump for YC in game one and pitched all five innings while giving up three runs, striking out three and picking up the win, his third of the season. 

Oughton started the game by stranding a leadoff double in the top of the first and was rewarded immediately in the bottom half of the frame with some big-time run support when freshman infielder Nick Miller launched a grand slam, his third homer of the year, to left-center. Later in the inning, freshman outfielder Mason Saint Hilarie singled home a run and the Roughriders led 5-0 after one. 

In the second, the squads traded runs with YC's coming on a solo homer off the bat of sophomore infielder Pierce Radke, his third longball of the season as well. 

After a scoreless third, GateWay pushed two more runs across in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit to 6-3. YC would go scoreless in the bottom of the fourth and the Geckos mounted an attack once more in the top of the fifth. 

This time, however, Radke, the Roughrider second baseman, dove to his right with a runner on first, snared a line drive and started a stellar double play to end the inning. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Radke continued his excellent day with a two-run single and later scored on an RBI single from Miller to bring the score to 9-3 in favor of YC. 

Two hitters after Miller with two outs and the bases loaded, Saint Hilarie walked to bring in a run and make it 10-3. The next batter, freshman outfielder Nate Nichols saw a Gecko error on a pickoff attempt bring home two more runs to make it 12-3 Roughriders with a man on third and two outs. 

Nichols promptly singled to left to score Saint Hilarie and end the contest with a walkoff via run-rule at 13-3. 

Radke, Miller, Nichols and sophomore catcher Wailele Kane-Yates all tallied three hits apiece in game one while Saint Hilarie had two and sophomore outfielder Ryan Pruitt had one. 

Game Two
Despite a leadoff homer in the bottom of the second from Miller, his second of the day and fourth of the season, the Roughriders fell behind 7-1 in game two as they entered the bottom of the fourth inning. 

That's when YC began to chip away with an RBI double off the bat of Kane-Yates and yet another homer off the bat of Miller with his two-run shot being his third of the day and fifth of the season while cutting the YC deficit to just 7-4. 

In the bottom of the sixth, sophomore catcher Luke Moeller brought home a run with a sacrifice fly and in the bottom of the seventh, Pruitt launched a solo homer to right, his fourth longball of the season, to cut the deficit to just one with two innings left to play. 

The Geckos, however, capitalized on some Roughrider mistakes in the eighth and ninth innings and tallied two runs in each frame to take a commanding 11-6 lead into the ninth while needing just three outs to leave Roughrider Park with a split. 

Despite an out to begin the bottom of the ninth, the Roughriders began to mount their comeback by loading the bases for sophomore infielder Riley Nelson who had already doubled three times in the contest. 

This time, however, Nelson took a jog around the bases as he launched the second Roughrider grand slam of the day over the right-field fence for his ninth homer of the season while cutting YC's deficit to just one at 11-10. 

The Geckos were able to retire the next YC hitter, bringing Miller to the plate with two outs, nobody on and the Roughriders down by a run. Miller, with three homers on the day, stayed patient and allowed GateWay to walk him on four consecutive pitches and become the tying run on first base. 

With the tying run on first, the stage was set for Moeller who stepped up to the plate and wasted no time, rifling the first pitch he saw into the left-center gap for an RBI double that sent the Roughrider dugout into hysteria. 

After Moeller's dramatic game-tying double, the next YC hitter walked to put runners on first and second for the Roughrider pinch hitter: sophomore catcher Vinny Neilson. 

With the Roughrider dugout ready to explode, Neilson worked a 3-2 count, before smoking a single to left field that scored Moeller to complete the comeback and give YC the 12-11 walkoff victory in game two and secure the Saturday sweep. Neilson was promptly mobbed by his teammates as he rounded first base to celebrate the victory. 

At the plate in game two, Pruitt and Nelson led the way with four hits apiece while Miller had three and Radke and Kane-Yates each finished with two. Moeller, Nichols and Neilson each finished with one. 

Freshman pitcher Carter Boone provided the Roughriders with five innings of relief on the mound in game two while allowing just one earned run and striking out seven.

Up Next
The Roughriders are back on the baseball field on Tuesday, April 2, in Chandler, Arizona, where they will take on the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Coyotes with game one of the doubleheader set for a noon start.