DOUGLAS, Ariz. – The Yavapai College baseball team headed south on Tuesday afternoon for a road doubleheader against the Cochise College Apaches and is headed back to Prescott with a split, winning game one 3-2 and losing game two 8-5. 

On the season, YC is now 7-7 overall with a 1-3 mark in conference contests. 

Game One
Great pitching and timely hitting were the recipes for success in game one for the Roughriders and it began with a great start on the mound from freshman Traig Oughton. Oughton went four innings and allowed just two runs on six hits to go along with four strikeouts. 

Oughton watched his offense give him the lead in the top of the second after a leadoff single from sophomore outfielder Ryan Pruitt. A passed ball moved Pruitt to second and one batter later, freshman outfielder Mason Saint Hilarie singled him in to give YC a 1-0 lead. 

Two pitches after taking the lead, Saint Hilarie stole second and then came around to score on an RBI single from freshman infielder Nick Miller and the Roughriders led 2-0 after two. 

Two innings later, Pruitt and Saint Hilarie were at it again as the duo led the fourth off with a pair of singles and were moved to second and third after a sacrifice bunt from Miller. The next hitter, sophomore infielder Pierce Radke, registered an RBI groundout to short to give Yavapai a 3-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Apaches got back in the game with a one-out two-run double to cut YC's lead to just one run at 3-2. 

Clinging to a one-run lead, stellar relief pitching was all that was needed to seal a game-one victory and the Roughriders got just that in the bottom of the fifth. 

A leadoff double chased Oughton from the ballgame and brought in freshman Chase Blease who was tasked with keeping the lead. Blease did just that as he fielded a sacrifice bunt, got a groundout to short and struck out the next hitter to strand the tying run at third and escape the fifth unscathed. 

Blease faced the minimum in the sixth and handed the ball to sophomore Austin Humphres in the seventh who promptly set the Apaches down in order to clinch the victory for Oughton and the Roughriders and earn the save. 

Pruitt, Saint Hilarie, Miller and sophomore infielder Riley Nelson each tallied two hits in the ballgame while freshman infielder Kevin Ramos and sophomore catcher Luke Moeller each finished with one. 

Game Two
After jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first in the second ballgame of the day, the Roughriders played from behind for the majority of the game as the Apaches took a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the frame. 

The Roughriders, however, were able to tie things up at 2-2 in the second and at 5-5 in the seventh. In the bottom of the eighth, a trio of unearned runs for the Apaches proved to be the difference as Cochise took an 8-5 lead and held the Roughriders scoreless in the top of the ninth to clinch the game-two victory. 

Pruitt led the Roughriders at the plate in game two with three hits, one of which was a homer, while Ramos, Nelson and Miller each finished with two. Sophomore outfielder Nolan Sparks, sophomore catcher Wailele Kane-Yates and Radke all added hits as well. 

Up Next
The Roughriders return to Prescott for their home opener on Saturday, February 24, at Roughrider Park where they will host the Arizona Western College Matadors with game one of the doubleheader set for a noon start.