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CAC sweeps opening series with Davis Monthan Air Force Base.
By RANDY HUGGLER, Staff Writer March 21, 2007
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Ryan Pilgrim of Central Arizona prepares to tag out Cochise’s Michael Onwumere during a pivotal play in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubheader at CAC Field. Staff photo by Oscar Perez.
SIGNAL PEAK - Christian Johnson's boxscore line from a doubleheader on Tuesday is rather ordinary: 1 for 7 with one RBI.
What the Central Arizona College right fielder did in a five-minute span, though, was extraordinary.
Johnson made a momentum-changing defensive play, freshman pitching sensation Josh Spence did what he seems to always do, and the Vaqueros swept a doubleheader from Cochise in a showdown of the top two Arizona Community College Athletic Conference teams at CAC Field.
Spence tossed his seventh straight shutout - with a big assist from Johnson - and extended his scoreless streak to 46· consecutive innings in a 1-0 victory in the seven-inning opener. Chandler Griffin and Austin Davis combined on a six-hitter in the Vaqueros' 4-2 triumph in Game 2.
The sweep improved CAC to 22-7 overall and moved the Vaqueros into a first-place tie with the Apaches at 13-3 in the ACCAC.
Johnson's key play came in the fourth inning of Game 1. With Michael Onwumere perched on third base with one out in a scoreless game, Kevin Hussey lofted a fly ball down the right-field line, and Johnson had a choice: let it land harmlessly in foul territory, or catch it and risk allowing the go-ahead run to score.
"We were yelling at him to let it drop," CAC coach Jon Wente said.
Johnson made a running catch, however, wheeled and threw a perfect one-hop throw to catcher Ryan Pilgrim, who had the ball waiting to tag out Onwumere at the plate.
Minutes later, Johnson drove in the game's only run with a sharply hit groundout to first.
"That (defensive) play turned the momentum in our favor, and we were able to keep it the rest of the way," Wente said.
The lone run was enough for Spence, though there were several other anxious moments for the freshman left-hander, who scattered six hits and three walks while striking out six and lowering his ERA from 0.37 to 0.32. He's 7-0 with a save this season, and has not allowed a run in six ACCAC starts.
The Apaches (25-7 overall) had two infield hits in the first, left a runner in scoring position in the second, third and fifth innings, and stranded runners at second and third in the sixth before Spence breezed through a 1-2-3 seventh with two strikeouts.
Cochise left-hander Cody Walden was nearly as effective, but immediately encountered trouble in the fourth after Johnson's defensive play. Cade Thompson led off with a single and went to third when Ryan Pilgrim doubled to deep left field. After Tony Pechek grounded out to a drawn-in infield, Johnson laced a wicked one-hopper just to the right of first baseman Russell Skeete, who had the ball bounce far away enough to allow Thompson to score the game's only run.
"We did a good job executing there," Wente said. "We executed a couple more times than Cochise did, and that was the difference today."
In the second game, Griffin (4-2) breezed through the first two innings, but was lifted after laboring through the next three and allowing a leadoff walk in the sixth. Davis went the rest of the way to pick up his third save.
After retiring six of the first seven batters and needing only 15 pitches to get through the first and second, Griffin lost command of the strike zone in the third and issued four walks. But he escaped with just one run crossing the plate by inducing an inning-ending grounder to third baseman Evan Raley.
CAC answered with two runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead for good. Josh Reed led off with a walk, then Drew Tooley dropped a bunt single along the first-base line. Cochise pitcher Brandon Orr threw wildly to first on Tooley's bunt, putting runners at second and third with no outs. After Andy Mees struck out, Pilgrim looped a two-run single to left.
The Vaqueros made it 3-1 in the fifth. Reed pulled a single down the left-field line and Tooley beat out another bunt single. After a double steal, Pilgrim delivered an RBI groundout.
Davis' only difficult inning was the seventh, when he allowed singles to three of the first four hitters, including an RBI hit to center by Rafael Valenzuela that made it 3-2. But Davis was stingy after that, retiring the final eight in succession.
The Vaqueros added an insurance run in the eighth. Tooley led off with his third single, took third when Mees singled to right on a hit-and-run, and scored when Pechek grounded out.
"Those were two good ballgames against teams that have been playing pretty well all season," Wente said. "Obviously it's huge to get a sweep. The formula for winning in this league is to sweep as many as you can at home and try to split on the road. So far we've been pretty successful at that. But we still haven't won anything. There's a long ways to go."
NOTES - The Vaqueros did not commit an error in either game. They've gone four straight games without a miscue, a streak of 35 consecutive innings. ... Reed went 2 for 4 in the doubleheader, and has eight hits in his last 10 at-bats to take over the team lead in batting average at .406. ... Cochise entered with an ACCAC-best 74 stolen bases, but had just one in the doubleheader.
©Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2007
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