SMCC Baseball Squares off With Gateway CC, Chandler-Gilbert CC

PHOENIX ---

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. 

Gateway CC Series 

SMCC used a 10-run second inning to take an 11-2 lead and eventually claim a 16-8 victory. Gustavo Sosa and Clayton Kempski had four hits apiece for the Cougars in the win, and three other players finished with multiple hits. 

Sosa missed the cycle by a triple and went 4-for-4 with three runs, four RBIs, a double, a stolen base and his fifth home run of the season. Kempski was 4-for-5 with two RBIs and his first double of the year. 

Jayden Smith had three hits, a run and an RBI, and Esteban Hernandez and Drew Bond posted two hits. Hernandez was 2-for-4 with three runs, two RBIs and a double, while Bond posted two hits, two runs scored and an RBI. 

Kyle Alexander hit a bases-loaded triple to finish with three RBIs and a run, and Paul Sachen scored twice. 

Raul Garayzar (3-3) posted his third win of the season. He threw five innings with six strikeouts and three earned runs. Charlie Deeds, Drew Woody, Jacob Beltran and Eric Perez all tossed an inning of relief in the win. 

The teams battled to a 1-1 tie through nine frames in the second game before the Geckos pushed one across in the 10th. 

Smith scored SMCC's lone run, coming home on a wild pitch in the fifth, and Gateway CC tied the game in the seventh.

Sosa had three hits in the loss, and Carter Richey recorded a double. Smith, Connor Schneider and Brian Leon all had stolen bases. 

Carter Krosky started the game for SMCC and tossed seven innings. He fanned five and allowed one earned run. Alec Stanfield tossed 1.1 innings of relief, and Matthew Martinez (0-3) took the loss with 1.2 innings of work, an unearned run in the 10th and three K's. 

Chandler-Gilbert CC Series

The first game between the Cougars and Coyotes finished in a 24-12 CGCC victory. SMCC fell behind 11-0 after two innings, trailed 21-3 at one point and scored nine runs in the sixth to nearly avoid a run-rule defeat.

Sachen led SMCC with three hits and finished with two runs, three RBIs and a double. Seven other Cougars had a base hit, and Drew Bond and Quade Swearingen posted doubles. Taylor Tractenberg and Schneider had a pair of RBIs, and four others drove in a run. 

Hernandez had a pair of stolen bases, and Richey added a steal. 

Ryan Figueroa (5-2) lost after lasting 1.2 innings with nine earned runs and a strikeout. Jacob Beltran, Gillis Champagne, Nick Wallerstedt, Steven Vasquez, Carson Hamro and Max Maholland saw time in relief. 

In the second game, the Cougars tied the game at 3-3 in the third but fell behind 5-3 after six innings. They scored a single run in the seventh, eighth and ninth, but the Coyotes responded with runs of their own in the eighth and ninth to post the 7-6 walk-off win. 

Sosa and Richey had two hits to lead SMCC. Richey collected his ninth double of the year and finished with a pair of RBIs, while Sosa added a run. Hernandez scored a pair of runs, stole three bases and had an RBI, while Schneider and Swearingen added stolen bases. 

Martinez (0-4) took the loss on the mound for the Cougars. Josaiah Estrella started the game for SMCC, and Perez, Bond and Deeds all saw time in relief.