DOUGLAS — The Cochise College baseball team’s annual Black and Red Wing Series is underway at Apache Field on the Douglas Campus.
The series divides players into two scrimmage teams drafted by captains chosen by head coach Todd Inglehart. Louis Boyd (Canada) leads the Red squad and Nick Borowski (Nevada) is head of the Black squad.
“One of the most competitive times in our fall ends here as they compete for buckets loaded with wings,” said assistant coach and series umpire Jesus Arzaga.
Red currently leads the five-game series 2-1 after falling in the first game 7-3, but bouncing back to win Wednesday 6-1 and Thursday 8-4.
In a windy Game 1, the Black squad was led by hitters Logan Bottrell (Nevada) and Borowski, and pitchers Kade Wagner (Utah) and Kyle Hanson (Idaho). The game opened with three runs by the Red squad. Wagner got the first two outs the runs followed after a miscue by Bryan Nuñez (Florida) on a ground ball by Nate Stepna (Nevada). Darick Hall (Arizona) followed with a base hit and Sean DeSoto (Nevada) drove in two with a double over the centerfielder’s head.
That was all the offense the Red squad had in them as Wagner settled in and cruised, allowing three runs, none earned, on six hits and two walks while striking out five. Hanson shut the door, throwing three shutout innings and allowing two hits and a walk while striking out two. The Black squad gave Hall trouble from the beginning. They scored one in the first and tacked on four in the third. In the fifth, with the score still close at 5-3, a key error by Adam De La Cruz (New York) allowed two runs to score and sealed it for the Black squad.
Bottrell and Borowski combined to hit 6 for 10 with three extra base hits and five runs while Borowski added four RBIs. For the Red squad at the plate, Boyd went 2 for 4, Stepna was 2 for 5 and DeSoto had the lone two RBIs.
The Red squad tied up the series in Game 2. Zach Fertheil (Alaska) kept hitters on their toes all day by commanding his fastball. In one of his best outings in the fall, he threw six innings gave up a run on five hits while striking out nine and only walking one.
Red squad got on board from the get go once again, batting around and scoring three runs off Charlie Ameer Jr. (Connecticut), who pitched five innings and gave up five runs on six hits while striking out four and walking four. Red added two more in the fifth and another in the ninth.
De La Cruz had two key hits with runners in scoring position and finished with three RBIs in the game. DeSoto and Jorge Duarte (Arizona) each went 2 for 3, getting base hits in those at-bats, while Boyd had two hits. The Black squad’s lone run came in the sixth as Borowski, Dan Hetzel (New York) and Ameer Jr. got three consecutive hits to score a run. Bottrell went 2 for 5 and Borowski was 2 for 4.
Game 3 featured a number of miscues by both teams. The Red team’s Tyler Fallwell (Arizona) gave up three runs on six hits while striking out four. Brad Danzeisen (Nevada) came in for two innings of shutout baseball, allowing just two hits.
The Black squad scored most of its runs in the third inning, taking a 3-2 lead as Christian Hill (Idaho), Borowski and Hetzel made the most of three hits strung together and a few pass balls. Browski went 3 for 5 with a double and two runs scored and Heizel was 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Meanwhile, the Red squad scored four runs in the fifth off Juan Aguilera (Arizona), who gave up three doubles and hit a batter. Red piled on more runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. At the plate, the Red squad was led by Boyd, who went 3 for 6 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Stepna went 3 for 6 with three doubles, and Hurtado went 3 for 4 and scored two runs.
Game 4 is set for 2:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, and, if necessary, Game 5 is at 2:30 on Tuesday, Nov. 18.