By Ed Petruska-Contributing Writer-Pinal Central

SIGNAL PEAK – An aggressive baserunning play helped the Central Arizona College baseball team secure an 8-4 victory over Cochise in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader against Cochise at McSwain Field.

The second-ranked Vaqueros stayed undefeated in Arizona Community College Athletic Conference play with an 11-5 win in Game 2. Ryan Ball homered twice and had five RBIs, Ashtin Webb also went deep and Jaylin Rae was 4 for 4 with two RBIs.

Going into the bottom of the sixth of the seven-inning opener, Central (12-1, 4-0 ACCAC) was clinging to a 5-4 lead after Cochise (8-6, 0-2) clawed back from an early 5-0 deficit. Webb drew a one-out walk and Kiko Romero followed with a single to right.

As the throw from the outfield was being cut off by the first baseman, Romero bolted for second. He beat the tag – just barely – and Central went on to bat around and score three insurance runs.

"Kiko's a heady baserunner," CAC coach Anthony Gilich said. "We work on that exact play. He read the trajectory (of the throw) and it wound up being a good read."

Blake Avila hit a two-run homer in a three-run second inning and provided an RBI single in a two-run third for the Vaqueros. Trey Newman had a run-scoring single in the second and drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth.

An RBI single by Tyler Griggs in the second inning gave Central a 3-0 lead. Chase Valentine and Rae had run-scoring singles in the sixth.

The Vaqueros finished with eight hits, getting two apiece from Avila and Newman.

Starting pitcher Shane Spencer went five innings. The right-hander held the Apaches scoreless until Eduarny Martinez homered with one out in the fourth. Cochise put up three in the fifth, getting a two-run double from Gerardo Hernandez and Connor Caskenette's RBI groundout.

Spencer (2-0) allowed six hits. He struck out eight and walked two.

Sam Rochard and Matt Wilkinson each worked one inning of scoreless relief for CAC. Wilkinson, who came on in the seventh, has a 0.00 ERA in five appearances (9 1/3 innings).

Central trailed 3-1 in the second game before scoring three runs in the second inning and four in the third.

"It was a tough day to play because the wind was kind of wreaking havoc, but we didn't let it affect us," Gilich said. "Our pitching and our defense did a good job of not giving (Cochise) extra outs, and we put up a lot of runs against a pretty good pitching team."

After Cochise scored two runs in the first inning of Game 2, Webb homered in the bottom of the frame. The Apaches extended their lead to 3-1 with a run in the second off CAC starter Patrick Steitz.

Ball's three-run homer in the bottom of the second put the Vaqueros ahead to stay. Two-run singles by Avila and Rae in the third extended Central's lead to 8-3.

The Vaqueros scored an unearned run in the fourth, and Ball belted a two-run homer in the eighth.

Ball and Logan Valencia each had two of CAC's 11 hits.

Steitz (3-0) went five innings, allowing four runs (three earned). The right-hander struck out five and walked none.

Relievers Evan Harmon and Jasiah George each pitched two innings. Harmon gave up one run and struck out one. George kept the Apaches scoreless in the eighth and ninth, striking out five and walking one.

"The whole day was a team effort," Gilich said. "We're happy with where we're at."