Owens haunts monsters in series sweep of Eastern Arizona

DOUGLAS, Ariz. --- Cochise Baseball prepared to wrap up their regular season home schedule as they got set for a three-game series against the Eastern Arizona Gila Monsters.

Friday, April 4th (Game 1, 5 innings): Cochise 12, EAC 2

Cochise was looking to get back into the game, down 2-0 in the third, when back-to-back 2-run doubles from Kenneth Rhein and Tyson Owens put the Apaches up 4-2. Sawyer Fech later added another run with an RBI single. Cochise put the monsters away with a big seven-run inning in the fifth that included a mix of walks, passed balls, and wild pitches, and finished off by another 2-run double from Rhein. Alejandro Vanegas went the distance, pitching all 5 innings, allowing two runs, and striking out three.

Saturday, April 5th (Game 2, 7 innings): Cochise 10, EAC 8

Francisco Laya got scoring started for the Apaches in the third with an RBI single. He was followed by a two-run double from Owens and RBI singles from Noah Allison and T.J. Shaw. Rhein extended the lead for Cochise in the fourth with an RBI single, and Owens drove him in with a two-run home run, putting the home team up five. Eastern Arizona did not go away, pushing as close as two runs before Andrugh Yee homered, making it 10-7. Collin Smith started for Cochise, departing with one out in the fifth after allowing six earned runs and recording six strikeouts. Daniel Gomez closed out the final two innings, allowing an earned run and adding four strikeouts.

Saturday, April 5th (Game 3, 9 innings): Cochise 6, EAC 2

The common theme of the series was for Cochise to trail in third before igniting their comeback, as Owens drove in two runs with a double, tying the score at 2-2. In his next at bat, Owens drove in Alex Dabrowksi with an RBI single. Allison followed him up with a two-run single, putting Cochise up 5-2. Shaw scored the team's final run as they held on for the 6-2 victory. Ramses Guerra pitched a complete game, going all nine innings, allowing only one earned run, and striking out four Eastern batters.

Up Next...

After blazing through the long homestretch, Cochise Baseball (39-8, 20-7) will hit the road for the next three weeks beginning, with Arizona Western College on April 11 at 12:00 p.m. for a doubleheader, and again on April 12 at 12:00 p.m. for the finale at Walt Kammann Baseball Field in Yuma, Arizona.

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