By Matt Hickman/Sierra Vista Herald
PHOENIX — On Tuesday at Phoenix College, the Cochise College baseball team split its third consecutive doubleheader, winning the first 8-5 and losing the second 5-2.
“That was probably our worst performance of the year,” head coach Todd Inglehart said. “As a team, we just played poorly. I think we took the baseball for granted. It’s easy to get up for Central and Yavapai, but there’s still 12 other teams in our conference that can beat you.”
The Apaches committed six errors on the day, most of them coming in the victorious first game. Zach Rodgers started for the Apaches and got a no-decision after surrendering four runs, one earned, on eight hits and four walks. Kenton Schroter came on in relief and got the win as the offense rallied behind Nate Hale, who had four hits, three runs and stole three bases. Tagg Duce added two doubles, two runs and three RBIs and Esteban Bastidas had a pair of hits.
Cochise got a strong pitching performance out of Steven Naemark in the second game, but Naemark wound up the loser, going 7 1/3 innings, allowing four runs with six hits and six strikeouts. The Apaches produced just six hits, one of them by Hale, who closed a five-hit day with another run and RBI.
On Saturday, the Apaches, 17-7 overall, look to pick up their first sweep since they hammered Glendale Community College at home on Feb. 23. But their opponent, South Mountain Community College, is ranked in the top 20 nationally and currently sits atop the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference standings.