Cochise sweeps Mesa on the road and sets program record with 24 runs in game two

The Cochise College baseball team traveled to Mesa Community College on March 5 for a doubleheader against the Mesa Thunderbirds. Sophomore RHP Jose Velazquez got the start for the Apaches. Velazquez went two and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out three. In the second inning, Cochise fired up the offense when Alan Ochoa's sac fly scored one run for the Apaches and put them on the board. In the third inning, Mesa scored two runs and gave them the lead, but Cochise evened things up at two in the top of the fourth inning when Ochoa scored a run on a single up the middle. Martin Miranda held it down out of the pen and showed guts when he stranded a lead-off hitter at third base, not allowing Mesa to score and keep the game tied. Cochise took the lead for good after a single in the sixth inning broke up the tie. Freshman outfielder Leo Melendez singled on a 1-2 count, scoring one run and giving the Apaches a one-run lead. Marco Ozuna closed the game with his seventh save of the season. Cochise tallied eight hits in the game. Gerardo Hernandez and Melendez both managed multiple hits for the Apaches. Cochise sealed game one with a 3-2 victory. 

In the second game of the doubleheader, Cochise College turned the ball over to Freshman RHP Fernando Barreda. Barreda led things off on the mound for the Apaches and allowed five hits and four runs over three and a third innings, striking out one and walking zero. Cochise jumped out to an early lead after scoring a run in the second inning on an error made by Mesa. 

Back-to-back bunt singles from Ochoa and Melendez also played runs giving Cochise a 3-0 lead. The Apaches didn't stop there and plated three more runs in the inning due to a sac fly from Gerardo Hernandez and a two-RBI double by Aaron Marsh. After a home run by Makai Desoto, Cochise added another run in the third inning, giving the Apaches a 7-0 lead after three. 

The Cochise offense continued to apply pressure in the fourth when Connor Caskenette hit a two-run home run, and Desoto added another RBI with a double in the right-center gap making it 10-0. Mesa answered back in the bottom half of the fourth scoring six runs and cutting the lead to 10-6. The Cochise offense responded in the fifth inning by playing seven more runs. The big inning was thanks to a walk by Dylan Bradford, a single by Damian Garcia that got passed the outfielder scored two, a single by Leo Melendez, a sacrifice fly by Aaron Marsh, and by Desoto. Makai Desoto would not be denied at the plate when runners were on base on Tuesday, driving in six on three hits. Desoto drove in runs on a home run in the third, a double in the fourth, and a home run in the sixth. Caskenette added another two-run home run to the dead center extending their lead. Cochise racked up 19 hits in the game.  Caskenette, Melendez, Desoto, Bradford, Garcia, Alan Ochoa, and Marsh managed multiple hits for Apaches.  Caskenette went 4-for-5 at the plate to lead Apaches in hits.

Also in game two of the doubleheader against Mesa, Cochise baseball scored a school record of twenty-four runs. Head Coach Todd Inglehart notched another milestone with his 800th career win.

This weekend, the Apaches travel to Thatcher, AZ, on April 9, for a doubleheader against Eastern Arizona.