Vanegas’ no-hitter highlights sweep of Saints
DOUGLAS, Ariz. --- Coming into the weekend, winners in nine of their last ten games, the Apaches got set for a three-game series versus the Community Christian College Saints.
Friday, March 21st (Game 1, 5 innings): Cochise 10, CCC 0
T.J. Shaw got scoring started for the Apaches in the 2nd with an RBI single, and was later followed with a 2-run double by Francisco Laya. Tyson Owens went deep to lead off the bottom half of the 3rd, while a series of mistakes from the Saints led to 3 more runs for Cochise. The bottom of the 5th included an RBI double from Laya and an RBI single from Owens, which put the 10-run rule into effect, giving the Apaches the win. Mathis Nayral pitched the complete 5 innings, with no earned runs and seven strikeouts.
Friday, March 21st (Game 2, 5 innings): Cochise 12, CCC 0
It was more of the same in game 2 on Friday, as a 2-run single from Briggham Kokotailo highlighted a six-run bottom half of the 1st. The Apaches loaded and cleared the bases in the 2nd off a three-run double from Noah Allison. The 3rd inning included back-to-back triples from Owens and Blanco, capped off by an RBI single from Sawyer Fech, making it a 12-0 game. Alejandro Vanegas had the Saints searching for a single hit all game on the mound, as he eventually finished with 5 no-hit innings to go along with six strikeouts.
Saturday, March 22nd (Game 3, 5 innings): Cochise 17, CCC 4
Noah Allison began his day with a 2-run home run to put Cochise up in the 2nd. The 3rd inning was highlighted by a 2-run single from Francisco Laya. A two-run triple from Angel Orozco, combined with 4 errors made by the Saints, spotted Cochise 10 runs in the inning, making the score 17-0. The Saints were able to muster 4 runs in the 5th inning but not enough to avoid the mercy rule. Ramses Guerra threw 4 shutout innings with 6 strikeouts, and Jose Pimentel struck out the last two batters to close out the game.
Up Next...
Winners of seven straight, Cochise Baseball (30-8, 17-7) will remain at home as they host Langley Blaze (British Columbia, Canada) on March 25th for a doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m. at Bo Hall Field in Douglas, Arizona.
(Submitted by: Jacob Saavedra, Cochise College Sports Information Assistant)