PRESCOTT, Ariz. – With the season on the line, the Roughrider Baseball team has finally made the playoffs for the first time since 2022! The series vs. #22 Cochise over the weekend could have helped Yavapai jump to even the 2-seed in the conference, and with the logjam between seeds 3 and 5 in the ACCAC having the teams be separated by only a few games at the beginning of the weekend, that possibility of hosting in the playoffs could have been a reality. Once Arizona Western had fallen in their series over the weekend, Yavapai knew early on Saturday morning that they had clinched the 4-seed, the first time Yavapai has been back in the playoffs since Coach Patrick Woods has been hired!

Yavapai's series against #22 Cochise was a tough 3 game stretch at home– their final home series of the regular season! Yavapai would fall in Game 1; a high-scoring battle between two hungry teams determined by just one run, but Yavapai and Cochise ended up splitting on Day 2, with Yavapai winning Game 2 in extra innings, all thanks to a walk-off 2-run Home Run from Jackson Schofield! The Roughriders would go 1-2 this weekend, but they still would clinch a spot in the playoffs!

Game 1

This game was a war all throughout, as Yavapai and the Apaches had each taken the lead and lost it multiple times. Eventually, Cochise would walk away with another in the win column, as they would put up 14 to Yavapai's 13.

Kevin Ramos, Matthew Peterson, and AJ Diaz all had 1-run Home Runs in this game! Peterson had 3 runs and 1 RBI, Diaz had 3 runs and 4 RBI, and Ramos had only batted in his own run.

The other runs came from Nathan Nichols, Caleb Horsey, Derek Kiepke, Brady Francisco, Liam Richards, and Justin Cherrington. Francisco batted in 2 runs, while Nichols and Richards had 1 RBI each. Nichols and Francisco each stole a base in this game.

Traig Oughton had 4 strikeouts in 3.1 innings, and Shane Hooper had 3 in 3.1. 

Brady Francisco had 10 putouts, while Justin Cherrington had 8. Kevin Ramos had 3 fielding assists, and 2 would come from Matthew Peterson and AJ Diaz. Peterson and Cherrington were responsible for 2 double plays each, and Ramos had one as well!

Game 2

In a long first game of the afternoon, the 7 inning affair stretched itself to 9, and would only be resolved by a 2-run walk-off Home Run from Jackson Schofield! Yavapai went on to win this game 7-5!

Schofield and Nate Nichols each had a Home Run in this game! Schofield had one at bat, resulting in 2 RBI's and 1 run! Nichols went 3 for 4 at home plate and had 2 RBI as well as 2 runs!

The other runs came from Kevin Ramos, Lucas Franz, Caleb Horsey,  and Liam Richards. Richards would also bat in 2 runs, while Cherrington batted in just one. 

There were 6 Yavapai stolen bases in this game! 3 of them came from Liam Richards, 2 from Nathan Nichols, and one from Caleb Horsey!

AJ Diaz at pitcher had 5 strikeouts facing 17 batters, while Owen Fernandes had 4 in 4 innings and Collin Adams had 2 K's in 2 IP!

Matthew Peterson, Justin Cherrington, Dalton Irwin, and Jackson Schofield each had a double play credited to their stats! Cherrington also had 7 putouts, while catcher Lucas Franz had 9!

Game 3

Since Game 2 was supposed to be 7 innings but went to 9, the latter of the two games only went to 7, and Yavapai would end up falling 4-7.

Jackson Schofield had his second home run of the day in this game! He also went 2 for 3 at bat, with one hit being a home run, and the other resulting in a triple (the triple would have been his third Homer of the day if it weren't for that pesky Green Giant in center field!) Schofield only batted in himself, but had 2 total runs on the day. 

Kevin Ramos also had a 1-run Home Run today, making that his 7th on the year (4th-highest HR on his team)! Kevin batted in 2 runs in this game.

Caleb Horsey is responsible for a run as well, and Liam Richards batted in Schofield after his triple! 

Ty Thompson had 5 strikeouts in 3 innings, and he allowed 0 hits! Austin Kalsek had 3 K's after facing 9 batters!

Jackson Schofield had a great offensive and defensive game, because he also had 4 putouts and 2 double plays! Derek Kiepke had 8 putouts and 2 assists, and Matthew Peterson had 4 assists on the field. The other double plays came from Peterson, Kevin Ramos, and Dalton Irwin.

UP NEXT

The Yavapai Baseball team has officially clinched the 4-seed, meaning that they are going to the playoffs! They will face off against the 1-seed in the conference, #14 College of Southern Nevada, and those games will take place on Thursday, May 1st, and Friday, May 2nd. 

As of right now, the times are to be determined, and more information will be told as it is revealed.