Apaches take down DI No. 2 Central Arizona, split doubleheader at home

Cochise defeats Central AZ
April 15, 2024

DOUGLAS, Ariz. --- Cochise Baseball is scratching and clawing to grab that No. 4 seed in the Region 1 playoffs as they wind down their regular season. The Apaches helped their cause by upsetting the DI No. 2-ranked Central Arizona College in Game 1 of their doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. 

Game 1: Cochise 3, Central Arizona 2

Both teams were strong on the mound in Game 1 of the doubleheader, but the Apaches defeated CAC 3-2 behind a solid pitching performance from freshman lefty Sam Pitts. Both teams were scoreless heading into the bottom half of the fourth inning when Cochise struck first with a double from freshman infielder Darluin Ferreira scoring one run. The Vaqueros answered back with two runs of their own in the fifth, and Cochise put two more in the bottom half of the frame to seal the 3-2 upset win. Pitts allowed seven hits and two runs over five innings, striking out two and walking three. Freshman reliever Olmedo Quezada pitched two innings of shutout baseball for Cochise, allowing one hit, striking out two, and walking one. Despite being out-hit 8-3, Cochise came away with the much-needed win at home. Ferreira, Kieran Gaffney, and Ruben Villaescusa each had one hit for Cochise.

Game 2: Cochise 9, Central Arizona 11

Cochise fell short in Game 2 of the doubleheader, despite clawing back late in the game. The Apaches were trailing Central Arizona 11-6 in the bottom of the eighth and closed the gap by scoring three runs off of two doubles, two singles, and a ground out. Cochise collected 11 hits and Central had 14 in the high-scoring affair. Tyson Noel stepped on the mound first for the Apaches, surrendering three hits and two runs over one inning. Alex Figueroa took the long-relief role in Game 2 pitching five and one-third innings, giving up three hits and no runs while striking out five. The majority of CAC's runs came off of a grand slam off of freshman Ramses Guerra in the second inning. Offensively, Pablo Garcia led Cochise with three hits in five at-bats. Kenneth Rhein and Mathis Meurant each had multiple hits.

Up Next..

Cochise Baseball (31-19,18-14) will travel to Prescott, AZ to take on Yavapai College (13-33,7-23) on Tuesday, April 16th and will host Pima Community College (36-12,22-10) on Saturday, April 20th each for doubleheaders beginning at noon.

ACCAC Division 1 Standings (As of April 15th):

  1. Central Arizona College 26-6
  2. Pima Community College 22-10
  3. Arizona Western College 20-10
  4. South Mountain Community College 18-12
  5. Cochise College 18-14
  6. Eastern Arizona College 15-17
  7. Yavapai College 7-23