Ed Petruska-Pinal Central

SIGNAL PEAK — Finding itself in a 4-1 hole, the second-ranked Central Arizona College baseball team regained the lead with one of its typical crooked-number eruptions in Tuesday's game against Glendale.

A five-run fourth inning at McSwain Field powered the Vaqueros to a 9-4 victory, their 25th in a row.

"We had a lot of game left to make a move," CAC coach Anthony Gilich said. "The offense picked it up, and we didn't give up any more runs."

Central improved its record to 36-5 overall, 23-2 in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference and 15-1 at home. The Vaqueros entered the game with a four-game lead over second-place Pima in the ACCAC standings.

Central had four hits in the fourth off Glendale starter Brock Jessup and none was bigger than a bases-loaded triple by Ashtin Webb that gave the Vaqueros a 5-4 lead. The drive to right-center came after Fisher Pyatt was hit by a pitch to force in the first run of the inning.

Tyrese Johnson followed Webb's three-bagger with an RBI single.

"We've been scoring runs but we've been leaving baserunners on, so it was good to clean up in that inning and take the lead back," Gilich said.

Pyatt socked a leadoff homer to right off Jessup in the sixth. It was his third of the season, tying him for the team lead.

The Vaqueros scored their final two runs off reliever Lance Wall in the seventh, getting a two-run single from Luke Thiele following a one-out walk to Lou Albrecht and Marcus Harrison's double.

CAC went up 1-0 in the first when Blake Avila came home on Albrecht's grounder that was misplayed for one of Glendale's four errors.

"This was a different kind of game than we've been in for a while," Gilich said in regard to having to overcome a three-run deficit.

Zachary Valentine was the hitting star for the Gauchos (23-19, 10-15 ACCAC), clubbing two-run homers in the second and fourth innings off CAC starter Theo Millas. Both bombs followed singles by Jacob Bauler.

Glendale, which has lost 10 of its last 12, had only two other hits – singles by Andrew Biddle in the third and Jose Valenzuela in the seventh.

Millas (8-1) went 5 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.

"Other than the homers, I thought Theo threw pretty well," Gilich said.

Jack Seward kept the Gauchos off the board for 1 2/3 innings, striking out two. Felix Schlede pitched the eighth and Daniel Davila struck out the side in order in the ninth.

"We used the (relievers) we thought would help us win," Gilich said. "It wasn't about finding them work."

With the wind blowing in at times, out at times and from left field to right at times, Gilich did not want to see the ball in the air.

"Seward keeps balls on the ground with his sinker, and Schlede and Davila are strikeout guys," Gilich said.

Central finished with 10 hits, getting two apiece from Webb and Harrison.

Following Wednesday's single game at Glendale, the Vaqueros play a home doubleheader against 19th-ranked Pima (33-9, 20-6 ACCAC) on Saturday. The Aztecs have an 11-1 road record.