Citizen Staff Writer
The Bounce
KEN BRAZZLE
kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com
There wasn’t any hesitation on the part of Pima Community College softball coach Armando Quiroz when Katie Ingraham phoned to inquire about playing for the Aztecs.
“She asked me if I still wanted her and I said, ‘Absolutely. We’ll take you,’ ” Quiroz said.
Quiroz tried to recruit Ingraham out of Catalina Foothills High School, but she chose an academic scholarship to Arizona State.
Ingraham failed to make the ASU softball team as a walk-on. When that happened, she decided to call Quiroz.
“Things just didn’t work out with softball,” Ingraham said. “I was lucky enough that coach (Quiroz) gave me the chance to come play here. I wasn’t ready to give it up yet.”
Ingraham, who plays third base, hasn’t disappointed Quiroz since enrolling at mid-term.
She entered this week hitting .463, which ranked her 14th in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference. With 63 hits entering this week, she could reach 100 before the end of the regular season.
She is also tied for second in the ACCAC with five triples. She’s one shy of tying for the conference lead.
“She has been a joy,” Quiroz said.
Ingraham continued to work out in softball while at ASU, so it wasn’t much of an adjustment to prepare for this season.
“I had to get use to the different coaching styles,” Ingraham said.
“I had to get close to the team, but they were very accepting of me. It made for an easy transition.”
Ingraham had to earn her starting job at Pima.
“Once you get to junior college all the players are very good,” she said. “It has been so much fun playing with all these girls out here because everyone is so wonderful and very good ballplayers.
“I was definitely lucky to get the opportunity.”
Ingraham and her teammates host No. 3-ranked Yavapai Saturday in a doubleheader that starts at 2 p.m..
No. 16 Pima trails second-place Yavapai by two games in the conference standings. Phoenix College leads Yavapai by two games.
More Pima sports
Citizen Staff Report
Other Pima squads besides the softball team are involved in key events Saturday:
Baseball: Pima travels to Yuma to face Arizona Western in a noon doubleheader. With six games left, the Aztecs are hoping to hold onto at least the fourth and final playoff spot.
Track and field: The Pima men’s and women’s teams will host their first conference meet in six years at the West Campus against Glendale and Mesa. Field events start at 10 a.m. and track events at 11:30 a.m., with 160 athletes vying in 38 events.
Women’s tennis:
Pima finished second at the Region I tournament Thursday in Glendale, placing behind only Eastern Arizona.
The team will compete in the national tournament in two weeks.