Baseball splits with Pima at home

The Cochise College baseball team played a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 19, at home against Pima Community College. The Apaches struggled to get anything going offensively in game one. Cochise had just five hits and failed to score a run in the seven-inning affair. Cochise turned the ball over to Jose Velasquez for the start. Velasquez allowed two hits and four runs over two innings, striking out three. Velazquez exited the game after two innings and was relieved by Freshman RHP Martin Miranda.

Miranda did a good job keeping the Aztecs off the board for a couple of innings. Freshman RHP Angel Ortiz relieved Miranda and finished the game on the mound throwing two-thirds innings. Pima got on the board first in the top of the first inning and then took a commanding lead in the third, going up five to zero. The Apaches had some opportunities throughout the game but did not capitalize. Leo Melendez and Makai Desoto each collected two hits to lead the Apaches. The game one loss was the first home loss of the year for the Apaches making them 19-1 at home this year. Cochise turned to Freshman LHP Evan Shaw to bounce back after losing the game.

In the second game, Cochise baseball was the team to get on the board first with a sacrifice fly by Cameron Crotte, which gave Cochise a 1-0 lead after one inning. The Apaches were able to hit the reset button offensively and caught a groove in the second game. Wasting no time in the bottom of the second, Gerardo Hernandez doubled in the left-center gap to score Damian Garcia from first base. Freshman shortstop Alan Ochoa followed up with a single that scored Hernandez and gave Cochise a 3-0 lead after two. Cochise cruised in the first half of the game. Left-handed pitcher Evan Shaw got the start and did a great job for two innings work before being relieved by sophomore Treyjen Meza. Meza tossed four innings, punching out six guys. He did a great job keeping Pima off the board besides a home run he allowed in the sixth inning. In the fourth inning, Damian Garcia hit a home run for Cochise and extended the lead to 4-0.

Cochise didn't stop with the offensive onslaught and added two in the bottom of the fourth and another two in the bottom of the sixth. After six innings, the Apaches were up eight to two. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Cameron Crotte singled up the middle, knocking in two runs to extend Cochise's lead to 10-3. With a commanding lead in the top of the ninth, the Apaches started the inning with an out and then, after a single, followed by an error, the Apaches endured an inning they could not predict. Cochise watched a seven-run lead in the eighth inning disappear as Pima scored eight runs in the failed comeback in the bottom of the ninth. A single by Romeo Ballestros, a single by Emilio Corona, a home run by Trent Kiraly, and a double by Jose Enriquez gave Pima a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. Cochise now trailed in the bottom half and needed to dig deep to score a run and tie the game up. Cochise's chances were fading after a strikeout to lead the inning off. Ochoa drew a walk, but Melendez followed up with a strikeout of his own. Sophomore third basemen Aaron Marsh came up with two outs and a runner on first base. Marsh battled in the at-bat, and Ochoa was able to steal second base and get into scoring position. After four consecutive foul balls in a 3-2 count, Marsh hit one gold to center then made it all the way to the top of the wall for a game-tying triple. Cochise secured the walk-off victory as the game was tied at eleven batting in the bottom of the ninth when Connor Caskenette singled on a 0-1 count, scoring one run. Cochise would go on to win 13-12 and keep their season in a great spot with playoffs quickly approaching. The Apaches totaled fifteen hits in the second game. Gerardo Hernandez, Caskenette, Aaron Marsh, Garcia, and Alan Ochoa managed multiple hits for Cochise and bounced back from the game one loss. This year, Cochise is now 20-1 at home and 38-14 overall, 24-10 in ACCAC play.

This Saturday, the Apaches have a bye and will be back in action at home against Arizona Western next Tuesday, April 26.