SMCC Baseball Defeats Chandler-Gilbert CC to Advance to Region I Championship

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (43-16) won two of three games against Chandler-Gilbert CC in the Region I Division II Semifinal series at the SMCC Baseball Field from May 1-3. After the Coyotes posted a 12-7 victory in the series' first game, the Cougars rallied for a dramatic 9-8 win on May 2 and posted an 11-5 victory on May 3 to advance to the upcoming Region I Division II Championship Series. SMCC will host Pima CC in a best-of-three series at the SMCC Baseball Field, with games at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 8 and Friday, May 9, with a noon contest on Saturday, May 10 if necessary.  

May 3 Recap

The Cougars rallied for an 11-5 victory to clinch the series, overcoming a 3-2 deficit after four and a half innings. SMCC scored three runs in the fifth to retake the lead, but CGCC scored twice in the top of the seventh to knot the game again. The Cougars responded with three runs in the seventh and three in the eighth to seal the victory.

SMCC jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first as Joe Terranova hit an RBI double to score Bobby Pierce Jr., and Raul Parada drove in Terranova with an RBI single. 

After CGCC tied the game with two runs in the third and took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth, SMCC answered with three runs in its half of the frame. Gavin Short delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single that scored Bryan Lorenz and Marcus Romero, and an error brought in the third run of the inning. 

CGCC again fought back and tied the game at 5-5 in the seventh. However, SMCC immediately responded with three of its own to take an 8-5 advantage. Parada produced a two-out RBI single to score Nuri Todd, and another miscue allowed two more runs to score. 

In the eighth, Drew Johnson led off the inning by making it to third on a throwing error. Short walked, Brayden Grantham replaced him as a pinch runner, and Todd drove them home with a two-run single. Todd later scored on an RBI groundout from Parada. 

Parada led the charge offensively, finishing 3 for 5 with three RBIs, a run, and a walk. Terranova was 2 for 5 with a run, an RBI, a double, and a walk, and Lorenz was 2 for 4 with a run and a walk. Johnson was 1 for 3 with two runs and two walks, and Todd had two RBIs and two runs. 

Christopher Mata earned the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief work. He entered in the seventh with two runners on base and one out and promptly retired the next two batters to end the threat. He overcame a lead-off walk in the eighth and struck out the final two batters in the ninth to secure the win. 

Fabian Ibarra started the game for SMCC and tossed five innings with four hits, one earned run, one walk, and seven strikeouts. Michael Caruso tossed 1.1 innings of relief with three hits, two earned runs, two walks, and a K. 

May 2 Recap

The Cougars and Coyotes engaged in a back-and-forth affair. SMCC eventually prevailed in the bottom of the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Johnson, which scored Grantham and kept the Cougars' season alive. 

SMCC got a strong starting pitching performance from Lukas Geisler as the Cougars built a 6-1 lead after six innings. Geisler tossed five innings with five hits, one earned run, three walks, and four strikeouts. 

Luke Jones got SMCC on the board with an RBI single to score Pierce Jr., and Lorenz added a sac fly to score Terranova in the first. Johnson then led off the second with a solo home run, his fourth of the season. 

In the third, Romero laced a two-out RBI triple to score Lorenz, and Pierce Jr. and Parada laced RBI singles in the fourth to give SMCC a 6-1 advantage. 

However, the Coyotes cut the deficit to 6-4 with a three-run home run in the top of the seventh. Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the frame to restore the three-run lead, and Pierce Jr. led off the eighth with a solo home run to put SMCC ahead 8-4. 

Again, the Coyotes were undeterred and fought back for four runs in the ninth to tie the game. Lorenz responded with a double to center to lead off the ninth, and Grantham replaced him as a pinch runner. With one out, Johnson lifted a ball into foul ground in left field, Grantham tagged from third, and he beat the throw with a diving slide to win the game. 

Pierce, Parada, Jones, and Lorenz all had two hits apiece in the win. Pierce Jr. finished with three runs, two RBIs, two walks, a stolen base, and his fourth home run of the year, while Parada was 2 for 5 with a run and an RBI. Jones drove in one, Lorenz scored once with one RBI, and Johnson led the team with three RBIs. 

Matt Elliot earned the win with an inning of relief, allowing one hit and one earned run. Grant Young tossed two innings of relief with three hits, five earned runs, three walks, and two strikeouts. 

May 1 Recap

The Cougars fell 12-7 to the Coyotes to open the weekend. CGCC scored a run in the top of the first, and after SMCC scored twice in the second, responded with three in the third and three in the fifth to take a 7-2 lead. 

SMCC got a run back in the fifth after Jones drew a bases-loaded walk, but the Coyotes restored their five-run lead with a run in the top of the sixth. CGCC then scored four runs in the top of the seventh to pull ahead 12-3. 

Facing a run-rule loss, the Cougars got one run back on an error before Romero launched a three-run home run to bring SMCC to within 12-7. The Cougars threatened in the eighth and ninth but could not push any runs across and lost. 

Terranova, Romero, and Todd had two hits in the loss. Romero was 2 for 3 with a run and two walks in addition to the three-run blast, while Terranova was 2 for 5 with two runs. Todd had an RBI single in the first and was 2 for 4 with a walk. Parada added a double and a run. 

Luis Martin Romero tossed 4.1 innings on the mound and took the loss. He allowed six hits, six earned runs, and three walks and struck out one. Braden McCarroll threw 1.2 innings of relief work with one hit, three earned runs, three walks, and two K's, and Thomas Peck tossed the final three innings with two hits, two earned runs, one walk, and four strikeouts.