EL PASO — The Cochise College baseball team swept its four-game weekend series at El Paso Community College to run its winning streak to five games and record to 7-3.
In Friday’s opener, Cochise scored eight runs in the first inning on the way to a 9-6 win, then cruised to an 8-1 victory in the late game behind solid hitting from Tagg Duce, who had five hits on the day and an RBI in each game.
“Late in the first game, it got sloppy,” Cochise head coach Todd Inglehart told the Sierra Vista Herald. “We made two errors in the sixth that helped them get back into it. But the second game was solid; we played well.”
Zach Rodgers earned the win on the mound in the opener. In the second game, Jacob Potts allowed just one run on three hits and struck out five over six innings.
On Saturday, Frank Salas earned the win in the early game, going 5 2/3 innings before Roy Aguirre came on for the final 1 1/3. Cochise won 8-1, then finished the sweep with a 6-3 victory behind Steven Naemark on the mound for the win and Kenton Schroter for the save. Salas, Duce and Nate Hale were the top batters for Cochise.
“To go on the road and sweep four at anybody’s place is a pretty resilient thing,” Cochise head coach Todd Inglehart told the Herald. “The guys are headed in the right direction. They’re a passionate group that cares a lot.”
The Apaches begin conference play this weekend with a noon doubleheader Saturday at Eastern Arizona. Cochise then travels to Central Arizona on Feb. 19 before returning home to the Douglas Campus to face Glendale on Feb. 23.