The Cochise College baseball team took three of four from Utah State Eastern in their last home series of non-conference play. The Apaches won both games of the first doubleheader played on Friday and then split on the doubleheader on day two.
Cochise won the first game of the series on Friday by scoring six to two. Getting the win was Trey Meza, who started the series for the Apaches on the mound by going five scoreless innings, two hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. Marco Ozuna got the save by closing the deal in his one inning of work, with two strikeouts and one hit.
Offensively Cochise had ten hits in the game, Hernan Yanez had two, Jimmy DeLeon with three, Connor Caskenette with a triple and a double. All with one hit were Ethan Silcox, Cameron Crotte, and Aaron Marsh. The Apaches played perfect defense in the seven-inning victory with two stolen bases.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Apaches won ten to eight in nine innings with thirteen hits. Makai Desoto and Ethan Silcox did most of the damage at the plate in the high-scoring affair. Silcox had three hits, two walks, and one run batted. While Desoto had four hits and two runs batted. Cameron Crotte, Aaron Marsh, Connor Caskanette, Eduarny Martinez, Anthony Martinez, and Gerardo Hernandez all had one hit in the second game.
The Apaches had a rough day defensively with three errors; however, they could minimize the scoring early to keep themselves in it. Joseph Sinclair started the game pitching for Cochise, going four and two, thirds of an inning, recording four hits, three runs, and two bases on balls. Angel Ortiz was first out of the Cochise College bullpen giving up three runs, one hit, two walks, and two strikeouts in one and one thirds of an inning. Jose Velazquez was last out of the pen for the Apaches. Velazquez gave up one hit on two unearned runs while recording the win after two and two thirds of an inning.
On Saturday, Cochise faced off with Eastern Utah again for another doubleheader. Nate Rohlicek got the start for the Apaches and willed them to a three to two victory. Rohlicek surrendered one run on five hits over six innings, striking out nine. Marco Ozuna threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen and recorded the last three outs to earn the save for the Apaches. Cochise got on the board first when Jimmy De Leon’s sac fly scored one run for the Apaches in the first inning. After being tied with Eastern Utah one to one, Cameron Crotte gave Cochise the lead with an RBI single in the fourth inning. Cochise would score another in the sixth inning on a hard ground ball that scored Hernan Yanez. The Apaches collected six hits on the day. Ethan Silcox and Crotte both managed multiple hits for Cochise and led the offense.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Ismail Pontiac took the mound for the Apaches. Pontiac surrendered five runs on three hits over three innings, striking out two. Adrian Aguilera, Mason Piert, and Angel Ortiz each contributed in relief for Cochise. Relief performances from the Apaches kept them in the ball game and gave them a chance to win. Cochise fought back after falling by eight runs in the seventh inning. The comeback fell just short, though, in a ten to nine defeat to Utah State Eastern on Saturday. Cochise scored seven runs in the failed comeback on a triple by Crotte in the eighth, a ground out by Martinez in the eighth, a home run by Makai Desoto and Crotte in the ninth, and a single by Silcox in the ninth.
The Apaches had fourteen hits in the game. Desoto, Silcox, Cameron Pehrson, Crotte, and De Leon each managed multiple hits for Cochise and Makai Desoto led the way going four for four at the plate to lead the Apaches in hits.
Cochise managed to win three of the four games on the weekend and will host Eastern Arizona on Saturday, March 27, to kick off ACCAC conference play.