SMCC Baseball Splits Final Two Games of 2021

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (32-16) defeated Cochise College 8-3 before falling to Central Arizona 7-2 as part of the NJCAA Baseball Region I Division I semifinals at Central Arizona on May 7-8. In the win over the Apaches on May 7, sophomore Justin Quinn hit for the cycle, and Brice Martinez added his second home run of the year as the Cougars avoided elimination and advanced to face the host Vaqueros. Against Central Arizona on May 8, Holden Breeze hit a home run, and Esteban Hernandez collected a pair of hits, but the Vaqueros scored four runs in the fifth inning to seal the victory and advance to the regional finals.

Cochise College Recap

Quinn finished 4-for-5 with three runs, three RBIs, a home run, a double and a triple in the 8-3 win. He ended the year with a .339 batting average, 13 doubles, five triples, six home runs, 36 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He earned First Team All-ACCAC and Second Team NJCAA Region I Division I honors for his work during the 2021 season.

Martinez hit his second home run in three games and went 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. He earned Second Team All-ACCAC honors following the year.

Breeze finished 3-for-5 with a run scored, and Andrew Lucas added a pair of RBIs. McKay Barney, Hernandez and Paul Sachen each had base hits in the victory.

The Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, doubled the advantage in the second and responded to two Apache runs in the fourth with three of their own.

Ryan Figueroa (3-0) earned his third win of the season with two innings of one-hit relief work. Dustin Bermudez started the game for SMCC and allowed three hits and three runs to go with three strikeouts. Ronan Kopp tossed one inning of relief with two strikeouts, and Shawn Triplett, who earned First Team All-ACCAC and All-Region honors, threw the final two innings with two K's.

Central Arizona Recap

Facing one of the region's semifinal hosts in a must-win situation, the Cougars got to within 3-2 after four innings. However, the fifth inning proved to be the difference-maker as Central Arizona scored four runs.

Breeze rocketed a solo home run to tie for the team lead with six deep flies on the season. He finished the season with a .296 batting average, 10 doubles, three triples, 30 RBIs and 35 runs.

Hernandez added a pair of hits and finished the season at .298 with 24 runs, two doubles, three triples, a home run and 13 RBIs. Martinez added his seventh double and 19th stolen base of the season in the loss. He ended 2021 with a .323 batting average, 19 RBIs and 39 runs scored.

Matt Bohnert (2-4) took the loss, throwing 3.2 innings with four K's and three earned runs. Triplett pitched an inning with a strikeout, Trent Adams saw some time on the mound, and Derek Decolati threw the final three innings with two strikeouts.

The Cougars finished the season with a 32-16 overall record and 25-13 mark in ACCAC play. They went 12-4 at home and 19-11 on the road and finished fourth in the conference standings.