GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The Cochise College baseball team will face Connors State College of Oklahoma at 11 a.m. MST (10 a.m. AZ time) Tuesday in game 11 of the JUCO World Series.
Connors State opened the tournament with a 10-9 win over Navarro on Saturday, then was run-ruled by Spartanburg Methodist 17-0 on Monday to drop to the losers bracket. The Cowboys went 52-9 overall this season heading into the World Series. It’s their sixth appearance at JUCO, but the program hasn’t ever taken home the championship.
The losing team of game 11 will be eliminated from the tournament. The winner goes on to play Wednesday against the loser of the Spartanburg Methodist-Neosho game to be played Tuesday night.
“We’ve had to play the ‘if necessary’ game in every (postseason) series we’ve played, and I think the reason why we’ve been able to win is because our guys are resilient,” said Cochise head coach Todd Inglehart. “I don’t see that being any different. They’ll play tomorrow, have a fantastic chance to win, and moments will come along that’ll dictate who wins and loses.”
Throughout the playoffs, the question of who will be on the mound for Cochise has been answered pretty close to game time. Pitcher Steven Naemark said that system works for him.
“I’m ready to go in case it’s me,” he said. “I think he doesn’t want you to psyche yourself out and blow it out of proportion.”
Cochise is looking to bounce back from a one-run loss to Neosho County on Sunday night that came behind a complete-game effort from Apache freshman pitcher Xavier Altamirano, who has helped fill in for injured ace Zach Rodgers late this season.
“Like coach said today, some teams pitch their ace that first game and they don’t have as deep of a bullpen as we do,” Naemark said. “There have been champions that have lost their first game.”
All of Cochise’s games in the World Series are broadcast live on KDAP 96.5 FM in Douglas, and all JUCO games are streamed live online at www.ihigh.com/njcaatv.