DOUGLAS — The Cochise College baseball team routed rival Central Arizona College in both games of a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon.
The Apaches, ranked No. 10 in the NJCAA’s Division I preseason poll released in late January, beat the sixth-ranked Vaqueros 9-1 in game one and 10-0 in game two.
Xavier Altamirano got the win in the early game, going the full seven innings and allowing one run on four hits and no walks while striking out four.
Central Arizona’s lone run came in the first inning, followed by Cochise exploding for eight runs in the fourth. Jason Sanez went 1 for 2 in the game with an RBI and a run scored, as well as a triple in the fifth inning.
Cochise’s momentum continued to the second game, with five runs scored in the first three innings. RBI singles from Jake Luna,
The Apaches are off to a perfect start in Arizona Community College Athletic Conference play at 4-0, and Cochise is 8-3 overall heading into Saturday’s game at Glendale Community College. Cochise returns home Tuesday for a noon doubleheader against Scottsdale.
Admission is free to all regular-season home games.