Smith and Ishida shine in double header sweep of Langley Blaze

DOUGLAS, Ariz. --- The newly ranked #17 Cochise Apaches came into the week winners of seven straight, as they hosted Langley Blaze of British Columbia, Canada.

Tuesday, March 25th (Game 1, 7 innings): Cochise 6, Blaze 0

Cochise jumped on the board quickly, scoring their second run off of a Sawyer Fech triple in the bottom half of the 1st. A Tyson Owens single in the 5th brought home Francisco Laya and T.J. Shaw, to make it a 4-0 game. Owens would later score on a wild pitch, and an RBI single from Kenneth Rhein gave Cochise their sixth and final run. Collin Smith settled in from the get-go, finishing with a complete game shutout, striking out nine.

Tuesday, March 25th (Game 2, 5 innings): Cochise 11, Blaze 1

Trailing in the bottom half of the 3rd inning, Rhein tied the game up for the Apaches with an RBI single. Later in the inning, Briggham Kokotailo's 2-run double stretched the lead to 4-1, in favor of Cochise. In the 4th inning, Rhein added to his day with a 2-run home run, extending the Apache lead to six. The inning also included a 2-run double from Jorge Cardenas, who later scored on an RBI single from Kevin Blanco for the 11th run. Sotaro Ishida, like his earlier teammate, pitched a complete game, giving up one earned run and striking out four.

Up Next...

Now looking to extend their winning streak to double digits, the Apaches (32-8, 17-7) will continue the homestand, hosting Ottawa University JV on March 27th for a doubleheader starting at noon at Bo Hall Field in Douglas, Arizona.

(Submitted by: Jacob Saavedra, Cochise College Sports Information Assistant)