Apaches sweep through Colorado Northwestern, prepare for conference play
DOUGLAS, Ariz. --- Cochise Baseball hosted the Spartans of Colorado Northwestern last week for another two-day, four-game series at Bo Hall Field. CNW visited Douglas from Rangely, Colorado concluding their annual tour around Arizona visiting multiple ACCAC schools before heading back to their home field. The Apaches were coming off a four-game series win over Utah State-Eastern and looking to gain momentum heading into conference play.
Thursday, February 8th (Game 1): Cochise 4, Colorado NW 3
Cochise took Game 1 of the series over the Spartans behind freshman ace Ramses Guerra, who was coming off a no-hitter from his previous outing. The Apaches got on the board first after singles from freshmen Richard Gutierrez and George Hogan each bringing in a run. Darluin Ferreira added to the lead in the second with another hit. After surrendering two earned runs in the top half of the fifth inning, Guerra was pulled for reliever Alejandro Vanegas who tossed two scoreless innings to guide Cochise to a game 1 win. Hogan, Gutierrez, and Ferreira each had one hit for the Apaches, along with freshman Kenneth Rhein and Sophomore Pablo Garcia.
Thursday, February 8th (Game 2-6 Innings): Cochise 15, Colorado NW 5
In Game 2 Thursday, Cochise cruised past CNW in six innings combining for 12 hits and 15 runs. Mathis Meurant hit his first home run of his Cochise career in the bottom of the first, which tied the game at three. CNW regained the lead in the second inning, but Cochise flipped the game on its head in the bottom half, scoring 6 runs led by a three-run single by Hogan. More offensive power behind Rhein and sophomore Ruben Villaescusa scoring two more runs gave the Apaches a comfortable lead. Tyson Noel started on the mound for Cochise, going one and one-third innings striking out one, and allowing seven CNW hits. Sophomore Luis Diaz came in relief for Noel striking out two and walking one. Game 2 was called in the bottom half of the sixth inning due to the 10-run rule when Mason Wray hit a single scoring Rhein for the 15th run.
Friday, February 9th (Game 1): Cochise 5, Colorado NW 3
The Apaches and Spartans met again for two on Friday afternoon, CNW took an early lead off of starting pitcher Sam Pitts in the first and added two more in the third holding a 3-0 lead over Cochise. It took until the fifth inning for Cochise to make a statement when Richard Gutierrez hit a two-run home run tying the game and giving a much-needed jolt to the Apache offense. Two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning gave Cochise a 5-3 lead which was enough for relief pitcher Alex Figueroa to shut the door on the Spartans.
Friday, February 9th (Game 2): Cochise 6, Colorado NW 4
Cochise completed the four-game sweep over CNW, however, the Spartans did not go away without a fight. The Apaches held a 5-1 lead over CNW in the sixth when relief pitching struggled to put CNW batters away, surrendering two runs and allowing the Spartans to battle back into the game. Vanegas came into the seventh inning with bases loaded to retire the final out securing a sweep for Cochise. Meurant, Villaescusa, Francisco Laya, and Kieran Gaffney each collected a hit for the Apaches. Sophomore Eduardo Torres started on the mound for Cochise only lasting a third of an inning and was relieved by freshman Olmedo Quezada who lasted four and one-third innings collecting 8 strikeouts and three walks.
Up Next..
Cochise Baseball (8-4) will begin ACCAC Conference play on Tuesday, February 13th as they host Eastern Arizona College (4-0) at Bo Hall Field in Douglas, AZ for a double-header beginning at 12:00pm.