The Cochise baseball team regrouped in the batting cages Monday afternoon to take a few swings and start thinking about Tuesday’s game in the JUCO World Series.
After a 2-1 loss Sunday night against Neosho County Community College, Cochise finds itself in the losers bracket and in elimination games through the rest of the tournament.
“I saw them at breakfast, and they’re hurting,” said head coach Todd Inglehart. “Last night, I was thinking, ‘I wish we were playing today.’ But this morning, I said, ‘I’m glad we’re not playing today.’ I knew once they got in here, threw the ball around a little, took a few swings, they’d be fine.”
The Apaches wrapped up their time in the cages and headed to Suplizio Field to watch the winners bracket game between Spartanburg Methodist and Connors State College. On Tuesday morning at 11 MST, Cochise faces the loser of that game.
“It’s not enough of a sample to use, watching them play one game,” Inglehart said. “You just get an idea of how they like to play. … Regardless of who we play, our pitchers will do a good enough job, and defensively we’ll have a chance to win every game we play here. We have to do the little things we didn’t do last night.”
Freshman Ty Bess, the team’s designated hitter, said playing under the lights Sunday night in front of nearly 8,000 fans did get into Cochise’s nerves a little bit, but it’s something to learn from.
“Keep your head on, in every aspect of the game,” he said. “We can’t get too big in the moment, like coach told us, don’t let the moment take you over. … Chill, let (Sunday night) exit the brain, and think about getting a win.”