AWC Matadors Split Doubleheader With Ranked Cochise In Top-25 ACCAC Showdown

Diego Alcala carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and Gerardo Castro launched his eighth home run of the season in the fourth, but a three-run explosion in the sixth inning of Game 2 handed Arizona Western College a reminder that the conference race still has plenty of ground to cover. The Matadors split Saturday's doubleheader with No. 14 Cochise College at Walt Kammann Field, winning the opener 4-1 before falling 8-2 in the nightcap.

The split came one night after AWC also dropped a 4-3 decision to Cochise on Friday, meaning the Apaches took two of three at Yuma's home diamond over the weekend. Cochise head coach Todd Inglehart has built his program around "competing daily and honoring the tradition of Cochise Baseball," and the Apaches' second-game performance validated every bit of that reputation. They entered the series at No. 14 in the NJCAA rankings and have held that position with remarkable consistency all season.

In Game 1, Alcala's near no-no set the tone before giving way to the offense. Castro's two-run shot in the fourth started a big inning, with RBI-singles from Victor Lopez and Jamie Beerman pushing the lead to four runs. Luis Angulo went a perfect 3-for-3 and shortstop Ten Shindo finished 2-for-3. When Cochise threatened in the seventh on a double, closer Filippo Baldassarri recorded the final out without yielding a run.

Game 2 unraveled at the bullpen seam. Starter Mattia Bernardis was replaced by Paul Garcia in the sixth, and Cochise answered immediately with a three-run home run that broke the game open. AWC managed a late RBI-single in the ninth but could not cut the deficit; the Apaches won 8-2.

What the split means in plain terms: Cochise now leads AWC by two games in ACCAC play (13-5 to 11-7), and the Matadors need to string together wins through April to improve their seeding for the NJCAA regional playoff. Head coach Drew Keehn's squad arrived in Yuma fresh off a five-spot climb in the NJCAA poll after sweeping Central Arizona on the road, debuting at No. 15 just five days before Saturday's games. That momentum took a hit this weekend, but AWC's 29-8 overall record keeps them firmly inside the national picture.

The standings context matters even more given what surrounds them in the rankings. The NJCAA's March 30 poll placed three ACCAC programs simultaneously in the Top 20: Cochise at No. 14, AWC at No. 15, and College of Southern Nevada at No. 16. Every conference weekend in April is effectively a playoff audition, and the games at Walt Kammann Field draw the kind of crowd that generates real money for Yuma. Ticket sales, concessions, and local business traffic from home stands feed directly into the Matador Athletic Association, the primary fundraising arm that supports scholarships across all seven AWC athletic programs.

The field itself carries the weight of that tradition. Named for Walt Kammann, a Yuma fixture who won the Rotary Club's International Buffet competition multiple times beginning in 1958, it has served as the launching pad for a program with 59 drafted players and three major leaguers to its name, including Sergio Romo and Bengie Molina.

AWC's next conference action is expected to include a home series against Eastern Arizona. Schedules, ticket details, and streaming information are available through the AWC Matadors athletics website.