Vaqueras sweep Pima to extend winning streak to 18 games

SIGNAL PEAK — The win streak continues for the Central Arizona College softball team, after defeating Pima 4-2 and 12-4 on Tuesday.

Brianna Moeller's two-homer day helped the No. 16 ranked Vaqueras extend their win streak to 18 games. Moeller went 1 for 4 with a two-run homer in Game 1 and 2 for 3 with another two-run homer in Game 2.

Brittany Holland extended her hit streak to 14 games, after going 4 for 6 combined in the two games, with four RBIs and two doubles.

CAC (37-6, 29-3 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) captured the lead in the first inning of Game 1 after an RBI double by Holland. The 1-0 score carried into the fourth inning when Pima's Margarita Corona hit a solo home run to tie the game.

"She's seeing the ball, she's having good at-bats," said CAC head coach Shelby Davis. "I think when she's focused on swinging at good pitches and not trying to do too much … she's contributing huge for us."

The Aztecs (29-16) tacked on one more run in the fifth after Mary Alys Julian scored on a sacrifice fly to center field from Anita Loaiza to take a 2-1 lead.

The Vaqueras responded in the bottom half with Moeller's two-run homer and added one more run after Holland scored on a single by Lindsey Smith, giving the Vaqueras the 4-2 lead.

Pitcher Devin Hally tossed a complete game. The sophomore right-hander limited the Aztecs to three hits and two runs.

Game 2 was a back-and-forth affair, although the score says otherwise. Pima took a 2-0 lead in the first, scoring two runs on an error.

CAC cut the deficit in half on a sacrifice fly by Holland that scored Annalisa Cordova in the bottom of the first. Cordova evened the game at 2-2 after drawing a walk with the bases loaded in the second inning.

"We have the talent, we have the experience to help us get the win," said Davis. "It's just a matter of staying focused, so even when we're down in close games … it's just a matter of staying focused and knowing that our hard work and practice is going to pay off if they can stay focused."

The Aztecs regained the lead in the third after Gabriela Trejo hit a two-run triple, making it 4-2. CAC answered back with seven runs of their own, highlighted by a two-run homer from Moeller, making it a 9-4 game.

Smith led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run to left field. The Vaqueras tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning on singles from Ashleigh Withers and Holland to secure the run-rule victory.

Kyrstan Garcia pitched all five innings. The freshman right-hander allowed six hits and struck out four.

Up next for CAC is a doubleheader against No. 10 Yavapai in Prescott on Saturday. The Vaqueras are 0-2 against the Roughriders this season, after falling 8-0 and 16-11 in a doubleheader back in February.

"We have to be able to make adjustments early. When we played them earlier we didn't make any adjustments," said Davis. "We've gotten a lot better since we played them last so it's just a matter of making adjustments."