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By GREG MACAFEE
Cronkite News

PHOENIX — Phoenix Christian pitcher Steven Cochran powered his Cougars to a Class 2A state championship on May 13 with a complete game performance, allowing six hits in a 9-2 win over Wilcox High School.

But Cochran came close to not being allowed to throw a single pitch on the biggest stage.

The night before, the junior closed out his team’s 4-1 victory over Scottsdale Christian Academy, striking out two of the seven batters he faced in the game’s final two innings. With a pitch count of 25, Cochran was just six pitches away from being ineligible to pitch in the championship game.

But on his 26th pitch, Cochran induced a game-ending double play that sent the Cougars into the championship.

“I could tell that I was going to be needed for the next game because we had lost our other pitcher so I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to go over 30,” Cochran said.

The “30” that Cochran referenced is the highest amount of pitches a sophomore, junior or senior can throw before needing at least one day’s rest under the new “Pitch Smart” rule implemented by the Arizona Interscholastic Association last summer. For freshmen, the number is even lower. They have a limit of 20 pitches before they are required to rest for one day.

Continue reading “Arizona coaches strategize around new ‘Pitch Smart’ rule”