The Yavapai CC Roughriders (47-20, 3-1 JUCO) battled for four hours in a game that seemed never-ending with Cisco College (48-15, 2-2 JUCO). The game traded leads more times then you could count, ending in a final score of 15-14 in favor of Yavapai, coming on 35 total hits.
For Yavapai there were a couple positives in the game, one being the performance of Nate Easley. Easley went five for six with six RBIs and one home run, landing a triple away from the cycle. Not only did Easley have a stellar game from the dish, he also had the walk-off double to keep Yavapai at the JUCO World Series.
“Its baseball,” Easley said. “You got to stay with it. It’s a nine-inning game for a reason. You get three strikes for a reason. You get three outs for a reason. You can’t take a pitch off in this game.”
The downside to the game for Yavapai is that they left 16 runners on base, which could have easily come back to bite them, sending them home instead of Cisco. With the win, though, Yavapai becomes one of the final four teams in the tournament. The loss sends home a talented Cisco College team, who gave out highlights at the tournament with three straight home runs in consecutive at bats.