Pierson leads Raiders past Yuma High at the plate and in the circle

Jackie Pierson made all the difference for Cibola on Tuesday.

Pierson went the distance for the Raiders, pitching seven innings, giving up only four hits and striking out two in Cibola's 4-1 win over Yuma High at home.

“She kept us in the ballgame,” Cibola coach Shelly Baumann said. “It was a wonderful job by Jackie.”

Pierson was also stellar at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI for the Raiders (8-1).

“I just wanted to stay focused and get good hits,” Pierson said. “I wanted to help my team out. We got hits but were not consistent, so I just wanted to help them out.”

In the circle, Pierson had an advantage over the familiar Criminals.

“I play with some of them, so I know what they can hit. So I tried to throw what they can't hit. I missed some of my spots, though, so that's my fault.”

Despite the win, Baumann said she wanted to see more out of her players — more hits, that is.

“We did not perform to the best of our ability. We needed clutch hits and we didn't come through with those. ... If we got one or two clutch hits there and we break the game open. It just wasn't our best performance today.”

Cibola grabbed the lead early. Mariah Caro got a leadoff walk for the Raiders and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Grecia Villa. Bethany Olea was walked and then stole second while Caro stole third. Pierson singled to right field to bring home Olea and put the Raiders ahead 1-0.

Alexis Evans hit a double to drive in Olea and send Pierson to third, improving Cibola's lead to 2-0. Lezlie Morris singled, allowing Pierson to cross the plate to put Cibola up 3-0.

The Raiders were able to put another run on the board in the bottom of the fourth after Caro — who had a leadoff triple — scored on a wild pitch to Olea.

Caro went 2 for 2 with two RBIs, two walks and a triple. Olea was 1 for 2 with a run scored in the game, while Evans went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a double.

The Crims (8-6 overall, 2-2 in AIA Power Points) got their lone run in the top of the fifth when Ivana Aguirre scored from second after Brittney Ramos doubled to center field.

“Ivana definitely did very well for us at the plate,” Yuma coach Liz Huyck said. “Brittney Ramos drove her in — so our bats are there. We play them (Cibola) again next Tuesday, so we'll see what happens.”

Aguirre was 2 for 4 for the Crims with a double and a run scored. Ramos went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

Errors made all the difference for the Crims — who committed four in the game. Huyck said she believes without those, it would've been a much different score on the board.

“Errors killed us. We just committed four errors and that just shot us in the foot, it put us in the hole. We did get out of some tough spots — some bases loaded — and we had some huge defensive plays.

“I think if we wouldn't have committed those mistakes, it could've been a 1-1, 2-1 game. We just hurt ourselves and we just need to grow from it and move forward.”

Erin Redmond can be reached at eredmond@yumasun.com or 539-6880. Find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YSErinRedmond.