By Mitch Vareldzis

The Tucson Badgers (16-8 Overall) were shutout for the first five innings but tied the game and took the lead in the sixth to go on to win Wednesday.

There weren’t a lot of runs scored in Tucson’s 3-1 victory against McClintock (16-10-2 Overall), but that was OK, because four Badgers pitchers combined to limit McClintock’s offense to just the one run, five hits and four additional base runners.

The winning pitcher was Carlos Cordova, who came in after starter Mike Corral was removed after walking the first batter in the fifth. Cordova pitched a scoreless fifth and surrendered only one walk.

George Arias pitched the sixth inning, allowing only one hit and inducing a double play from Miguel Pastor. Jose Contreras earned the save after retiring the three hitters he faced, including a strikeout of pinch hitter Cole Perez.

“(The win) felt good,” Badgers head coach Oscar Romero said. “We were able to clutch up and forget about the previous innings, and we capitalized in the end.”

Until the sixth inning, Chargers starter BJ Murillo had been working quickly through the Badger lineup.

In the sixth, Murillo struck out Badgers second baseman Jacob Federico. Left fielder Anthony Figueroa followed up with a single to left, and shortstop Martin Garcia was then hit by a pitch.

With runners on first and second, right fielder Ricky Martinez smacked a double to center field, driving in Figueroa and putting runners on second and third.

First baseman Joe Dicochea followed that with a single to left to drive in Garcia.

With some strategic base running from Dicochea, Martinez was able to score while Dicochea was in a pickle and was eventually tagged out between second and first.

Center fielder Kyle Rivera then grounded out to end the inning.

BJ Murillo pitched the whole game and allowed eight hits, three runs, walked one, hit one and struck out five in the loss. An exciting moment occurred for the Chargers during the third inning when right fielder Danny Gorman hit a home run far over the right field fence.

It was McClintock’s only run of the game, but it was a meaningful one.

“That was his (Gorman) first of the year,” Chargers head coach Paul Mather said. “It was his first as a senior and on Senior Day. It was exciting to see (the home run) and to see it off of his bat.”

This was the final game of the season for both teams. Mather said that he could not say enough about his seniors.

“They have truly stepped up as leaders,” Mather said. “(The team) has struggled the past couple years, and despite the adjustments the seniors have bought in to what we are trying to do.”

With the announcement for the playoffs teams tomorrow, both coaches showed confidence in their teams despite a hint of nerves.

“We were frightened real hard due to consecutive losses and injuries,” Romero said. “We have tried to make due, and we came back and got wins. I am confident that we will have home field advantage.”

“Hopefully, we are in,” Mather said. “We have been on the road a lot, so it will not be foreign to us. Mario Muñoz will be back, so we will have his pitching and offense back.”

The bracket show will air April 28 at 2:30 p.m. It can be viewed on azpreps365.com at the following link: http://www.azpreps365.com/videos/2937/2016-aia-baseball-softball-bracket-show

Mitch Vareldzis is a sports journalism student at Arizona State.