Apaches hang on and take first two versus Utah State-Eastern

DOUGLAS,Ariz. --- Cochise Baseball began playing the first two of four on Sunday afternoon, hosting the Utah State-Eastern Golden Eagles. Apaches came into the series as winners of seven straight.

Sunday, February 9th (Game 1, 7 innings): Cochise 4, Utah State-Eastern 3

In what began as a pitcher's duel between both starters, turned into an exciting finish for the Apaches. A 1st-inning sacrifice fly from Andrugh Yee brought Francisco Laya across to score the game's only run until the later innings. Cochise added two more runs in the 6th, after an Alex Dabrowski RBI double and Francisco Laya sacrifice fly. After the Golden Eagles tied things in the 7th, Cochise rallied in the bottom half with two outs and walked it off on an RBI single from Kenneth Rhein. Rhein led the team, reaching base three times with two hits and an RBI. Mathis Nayral was magnificent, turning over five and two-thirds innings, allowing only one hit, and striking out ten batters. Collin Smith got the win, pitching an inning of relief in the 7th.

Sunday, February 9th (Game 2, 7 innings): Cochise 8, Utah State-Eastern 6

The bats came alive in game two as the Apaches held on against a fighting Utah State-Eastern. A wild first inning, with a mix of errors, wild pitches, and passed balls, had things all squared at two going into the second. Up by two in the 4th, Cochise added three more off a pair of singles from TJ Shaw and Tyson Owens, followed by a bases-loaded walk by Sawyer Fech. The Golden Eagles began to mount a comeback before Tyson Owens added some insurance to Cochise's lead with a solo shot, putting things where it finished at 8-6. Shaw led the way with three hits, followed by Laya, Owens, Fech, and Dabrowski, who had two each. Collin Smith once again pitched in relief, closing off the final two innings.

Up Next...

Cochise Baseball (10-2, 4-2) will continue their series against Utah State Eastern (3-3) on Monday, February 10th, at Bo Hall Field in Douglas, AZ, for a doubleheader starting at 12:00 P.M.

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