PHOENIX — The Cochise College baseball team was swept by South Mountain in the NJCAA Region I Division I championship series, falling in game one 2-1 Thursday and dropping a heartbreaker 11-10 in 11 innings Friday.
The teams were vying to host the Western District Tournament, which is set for next Thursday through Saturday. Region I is hosting the tournament this year, which means its two top teams make the tournament.
Friday’s game saw Cochise take an early lead, but South Mountain scored four in the fourth to go up 5-2. The Apaches battled back with two runs in the fifth, but the Cougars tacked on three in the sixth and one in the seventh to go up 9-4 before the Apaches rallied for five runs in the ninth inning to tie it and send it into extras.
The ninth-inning rally was led by Louis Boyd, who hit a two-run triple to center field, and Darick Hall, whose three-run home run tied it.
In the top of the 11th, Sean DeSoto singled to right field to score Hall, but South Mountain won it on two RBI singles in the bottom of the inning.
The Western District Tournament also includes the top teams from Region 18 and Region 9. The district tournament schedule will be set following the completion of those regions’ tournaments.