2021-22 SMCC Baseball News
SMCC Baseball Sophomores Esteban Hernandez, Clayton Kempski Transfer for 2023 Season
July 27, 2022
Sophomores Esteban Hernandez and Clayton Kempski of the South Mountain Community College Baseball team will transfer to NCAA Division I Southeast Missouri State University and Winthrop University, respectively, to continue their baseball career for the upcoming 2023 season. Hernandez is an infielder and right-handed pitcher from Yuma, Ariz., appeared in 83 games and posted a .273 batting average with 11 extra-base hits and 17 stolen bases. Kempski is a catcher from Corrales, N.M., who batted .269 with 16 RBIs and three doubles in 42 career games.
Gustavo Sosa Selected by Philadelphia Phillies in 2022 MLB Draft
July 20, 2022
The Philadelphia Phillies drafted South Mountain Community College baseball catcher Gustavo Sosa in the 10th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft with pick 302. A redshirt-freshman from Staten Island, N.Y., Sosa earned Second Team All-ACCAC honors in 2022 after batting .337 with 13 doubles, nine home runs, 37 RBIs, 24 walks and seven stolen bases.
Five Cougars Set to Transfer for 2023 Season
July 19, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team announced that five pitchers from its 2022 roster will transfer to four-year universities to continue their intercollegiate baseball careers for the upcoming 2023 season. Carter Krosky (Utah Valley University), Drew Woody (Utah Valley University), Alec Stanfield (University of New Mexico), Ryan Figueroa (CSU Bakersfield) and Charlie Deeds (Southeastern Oklahoma State University) represented SMCC over the past several seasons with spirit and honor, and further the Cougars' reputation of developing talent for the next level.
Forty-Three SMCC Student-Athletes Earn 2021-22 NJCAA All-Academic Honors
July 11, 2022
A total of 43 South Mountain Community College student-athletes earned 2021-22 NJCAA All-Academic honors for their work in the classroom. The SMCC women's golf team received NJCAA Academic Team of the Year honors after posting a cumulative 3.65 team GPA, and the Cougars had 10 student-athletes earn First Team awards after posting a perfect 4.0 GPA.
SMCC Baseball Coach Tyler Gillum, Savannah Bananas Featured in Arizona Republic
July 05, 2022
Tyler Gillum, associate head coach of the South Mountain Community College baseball team and the SMCC Program Director of Health and Wellness, and the Savannah Bananas were featured in a story by Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic on July 3, 2022. Gillum is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Bananas, who compete in the Coastal Plain League during the summer.
SMCC Baseball Holds Open Tryouts on June 17
June 08, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team will hold open tryouts at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, June 17 at the SMCC Baseball Field. Participants must bring a copy of a valid sports physical within the last 13 months and their own baseball equipment.
Eleven Ex-Cougars Set to Compete in 2022 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
May 31, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team has a host of former student-athletes competing in the 2022 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The Cougars have a footprint in multiple regionals as the squads battle for a spot in Omaha, Neb., for the 2022 College World Series.
Cougar Trio Earns All-ACCAC Honors, Jayden Smith Named All-Region
May 03, 2022
South Mountain Community College baseball freshman Jayden Smith earned 2022 Second Team Region I Division I honors. He and fellow SMCC freshmen Carter Richey and Gustavo Sosa received 2022 Second Team All-ACCAC awards, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
SMCC Baseball Splits with Cochise College to Conclude 2022 Season
May 02, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team (27-29, 15-23 ACCAC) split an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference home doubleheader with Cochise College on April 30, winning the first game 8-4 (7 innings) before falling 11-9 in the second contest. In the game one victory, the Cougars posted five extra-base hits, including a Brian Leon home run, and mounted a ninth-run rally in the second contest that nearly erased an 11-1 deficit.
Cougar Baseball Splits ACCAC Doubleheader with Pima CC
April 27, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team (26-28, 14-22 ACCAC) split an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference home doubleheader against Pima CC on April 26. The Cougars won the first game 8-3 behind a home run from Drew Bond, doubles from Carter Richey and Connor Schneider and solid work out of the bullpen from Matthew Martinez and Raul Garayzar. In the second game, the Aztecs jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings and led 7-2 after six, but put the game out of reach with a 10-run seventh inning to post a 17-2 victory.
SMCC Baseball Splits ACCAC Doubleheader at Yavapai College
April 25, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team (25-27, 13-21 ACCAC) split an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference doubleheader at Yavapai College on April 23. The Cougars won the first game 11-6 behind 11 hits as Gustavo Sosa hit a home run and Brian Leon and Taylor Tractenberg added doubles. SMCC jumped out to an early in game two, but the Roughriders rallied in the later frames to split the doubleheader.
SMCC Baseball Splits Season Series with Central Arizona
April 20, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team (24-26, 12-20 ACCAC) split a midweek Arizona Community College Athletic Conference home series with Central Arizona on April 19 and 20. In the first game, the Vaqueros jumped all over SMCC, taking a 19-6 victory. In the second contest, SMCC held on for a 6-5 win to halve the season series with Central Arizona.
Cougar Baseball Battles with at Phoenix College, Eastern Arizona
April 18, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team (23-25, 11-19 ACCAC) defeated Phoenix College 6-2 (7) and 3-1 (7) in a non-conference doubleheader at Phoenix College on April 12. Drew Bond had a double and three RBIs in the first game, and four other Cougars had extra-base hits as SMCC defeated the Bears 6-2 in seven innings. Brian Leon led SMCC with three hits, and Quade Swearingen added a triple as the Cougars swept the doubleheader with a 3-1, seven-inning victory. The Cougars returned to ACCAC action on Saturday, April 16, with a doubleheader at Eastern Arizona. After dropping the first game 2-0, the Cougars rebounded for a 22-12 victory in the second game to split the doubleheader.
Arizona Western Takes Pair of ACCAC Games from SMCC Baseball
April 11, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team (20-24, 10-18 ACCAC) lost both games of an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference doubleheader to Arizona Western on April 9. SMCC led 2-1 after four innings, but the Matadors scored five in the fifth and two in the seventh to post a 7-2 victory in the first contest. In the second game, the Cougars led 4-0 after four and 5-1 after five, but Arizona Western's two runs in the sixth and seven in the seventh proved too much in a 13-8 loss.
Cougar Baseball Splits Midweek Series with Scottsdale CC
April 07, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team (20-22, 10-16 ACCAC) split an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference midweek series with Scottsdale CC, defeating the Artichokes 11-6 on April 5 before falling 7-5 on April 6. Jayden Smith, Carter Richey and Kyle Alexander blasted home runs in the 11-6 victory, and Paul Sachen added a two-run shot in the 7-5 defeat.
SMCC Baseball Squares off With Gateway CC, Chandler-Gilbert CC
April 04, 2022
The South Mountain Community College baseball team (19-21, 9-15 ACCAC) split an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference doubleheader with Gateway CC. It later fell twice to Chandler-Gilbert CC in more ACCAC action last week. The Cougars posted a 16-8 win over the Geckos on March 30 before losing 2-1 in 10 innings on March 31. The Cougars then fell 24-12 on April 1 and 7-6 to the Coyotes on April 2 in more ACCAC action.