PHOENIX — The Cochise College baseball team made the most of its rematch against South Mountain on Friday.
The Apaches run-ruled the Cougars 13-3 in five innings to send tournament host South Mountain to the losers’ bracket of the Western District Championship tournament, a week after Cougars swept Cochise for the Region I title.
Saturday’s district championship game between Cochise and either Western Nevada or South Mountain begins at noon. Earlier Friday, Western Nevada defeated Trinidad State 8-2 to eliminate the Trojans from the tournament. Western Nevada and South Mountain square off in the late afternoon game Friday to determine which team advances in the losers’ bracket to the title game.
The Western District champion goes on to the NJCAA Division I World Series, set for May 24-31 in Grand Junction, Colo. Last year, Cochise won the district tournament and finished third in the nation.
Cochise pounded South Mountain with five runs in the second inning, six more in the third and two more in the fifth. The Cougars scored two in the third and were hinting at a two-out rally to stay alive in the bottom of the fifth, but only one run scored before Cochise starting pitcher Steve Naemark got the final South Mountain batter to fly out to center field.
Naemark earned the complete-game win, giving up two earned runs on just six hits. At the plate for Cochise, Sean DeSoto went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored, Darick Hall went 2 for 3 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored, and Jason Sanez went 3 for 3, including a solo home run in the fourth, with two RBIs and three runs scored.
Every batter in Cochise’s lineup scored at least one run.
As the only team in the double-elimination tournament without a loss, if the Apaches lose today’s noon game, they play again at 3 p.m. for their last shot at the title. For a live online audio broadcast of Saturday’s Western District Championship game(s), visit client.stretchinternet.com/client/scc.portal.