No. 3 SMCC Softball Ready for NJCAA Division II World Series

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College softball team is the No. 3 seed in the NJCAA Division II World Series at Tyger River Park in Spartanburg, S.C. from May 23-27. The Cougars won the Region I Division II Tournament and will now set their sights on a national title as the country's best teams meet up in the Palmetto State. 

SMCC will open the tournament vs. No. 14 seed Jackson College (MI) at 4 pm ET / 1 pm MT on Tuesday, May 23. 

The Jackson College Jets enter the World Series with a 39-17 overall record and a 24-6 conference mark. The Jets defeated Grand Rapids Community College twice in the NJCAA Great Lakes District A Softball Championship to punch their ticket to the World Series. 

As a team, Jackson College is batting .356 with 403 runs, 98 doubles, 17 triples, 27 home runs, 338 RBIs and 119 stolen bases in 56 games. The Jets' pitching staff owns a 3.11 ERA with 343 strikeouts, 138 walks and 152 earned runs in 342 innings of work.  

Sophomore Kate Leach leads Jackson College with a .458 batting average and adds 20 doubles, four triples, four home runs and 10 stolen bases. Sophomore Kylee Yon leads the Jets with 69 runs and 54 stolen bases and is batting .414 with nine doubles. 

Sophomore Emily Breslin sports a 17-4 record with a 1.35 ERA, 184 strikeouts, 18 walks, and 28 earned runs in 145.2 innings. Sophomore Ashley Williams is 7-5 with a 3.43 ERA and freshman Rayven Buchanan is 6-2 with a 3.73 ERA. 

To visit the 2023 NJCAA DII Softball World Series Official Website, click here 

Tickets

To pre-purchase tickets, click here 

Daily Passes: $15 per Adult 

Tourmanent Passes: $50 per Adult

Children 12 & Under: Free

There is no fee for parking at Tyger River Park 

NJCAA Network

All games will be broadcast live on the NJCAA Network and are available through a variety of pay-per-view options.

To access the NJCAA Network, click here

Day Pass: $10

Tournament Pass: $25

Championship Day: $5

All-Access Pass (All 2022-23 NJCAA Championship Events): $100

The Cougars enter the tournament with a 52-8 overall record, setting the school record for wins. SMCC finished 43-5 in the ACCAC and won the conference championship for the first time in school history. The Cougars hosted the Region I Division II Tournament and defeated Chandler-Gilbert CC and Phoenix College twice to advance to their third World Series in program history. 

As a team, SMCC sports a .402 batting average, 639 runs and 136 home runs. The Cougars lead Division II with 720 hits, rank second in home runs, runs, and RBIs, and ninth in batting average. The Cougar pitchers have combined to post a 3.88 ERA and 254 strikeouts in 373 innings. 

Five Cougars received All-ACCAC and All-Region I Division II honors as voted upon by the league's head coaches. Sophomore Makaiya Gomez was named ACCAC Player of the Year, with sophomore Anisa Reynolds and freshmen Halle Hogan and Brianna Garcia joining her with First Team All-ACCAC honors. Sophomore Rebecca Miller received Second Team All-ACCAC honors and joined her four teammates on the Region I Division II squad, and Cougar head coach Brittany Matta was named ACCAC Coach of the Year. 

Reynolds earned Region I Division II Tournament MVP honors after tossing a pair of complete games in the wins over Phoenix College. She enters the World Series with a 20-3 record and 100 strikeouts, 54 walks, 70 earned runs and a 3.54 ERA in 138.1 innings of work. She also has excelled at the plate and in the outfield, batting .382 with 59 runs, 68 hits, eight doubles, 25 home runs, 78 RBIs, 25 walks and seven stolen bases in 56 games. 

Gomez has had a sensational season for the Cougars and earned the ACCAC Player of the Year. She enters the World Series batting .542 with 121 runs, 109 hits, 24 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 88 RBIs, 51 walks, and 27 stolen bases. She has set new program records in runs and walks. 

Garcia has set the school record with 28 home runs and she has four multi-home run games in 2023, including three bombs in a 12-2 win at Arizona Western on March 7. She enters the World Series batting .462 with 89 runs, 102 hits, 26 doubles, a triple, 96 RBIs, 27 walks, and 10 stolen bases. 

Hogan has excelled at the plate and as the team's primary first baseman in the 2023 season. She enters the World Series batting .509 with 56 runs, 88 hits, 22 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs, 70 RBIs, 24 walks and six stolen bases. Defensively, she posted a .975 fielding percentage in 198 chances and has been a part of 12 double plays. 

Miller appeared in 28 games before an injury cut her season short in late March. She batted .402 with 27 runs, 35 hits, four doubles, two triples, four home runs, 22 RBIs and 11 walks. She also had a .480 on-base percentage and a .632 slugging percentage. As the team's primary catcher, she recorded a .992 fielding percentage in 124 chances, finishing with 10 assists and catching two runners stealing. 

Sophomore Annalise Chavez homered twice during the Region I Division II Tournament and finished with 5-for-8 with three runs, two doubles, six RBIs and a walk over the three games. She enters the World Series batting .366 with 29 runs, 34 hits, eight doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 24 RBIs and 13 walks. Chavez took over behind the plate for Miller and owns a .993 fielding percentage in 38 games. 

Freshman Iliana Munoz had the game-winning RBI double in the Region I Division II Championship and she added four runs, four walks and a home run over the three games. She enters the World Series batting .436 with 70 runs, 82 hits, 18 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs, 56 RBIs, 12 walks, and six stolen bases. 

Freshman Mykenzie Flores earned the win over Chandler-Gilbert CC at the Region I Division II Tournament with 3.1 innings of relief. She enters the World Series with a 9-2 record, two saves, 49 strikeouts, 27 walks, 49 earned runs and a 4.31 ERA in 79.2 innings. 

Freshman Angelica Tello has been a strong option in the cirlce for SMCC this season. She enters the World Series with a 17-2 record and two saves, 93 strikeouts, 23 walks, 71 earned runs and a 4.07 ERA in 122 innings in the circle. 

Freshman Mia Franco has seen extensive time in the outfield for SMCC in 2023. She enters the World Series batting .317 with 49 runs, 58 hits, 10 doubles, a triple, five home runs, 47 RBIs, 15 walks and two stolen bases. 

Freshman Vanessa Philpot has been the team's primary second baseman in 2023. She enters the World Series batting .309 with 40 runs, 46 hits, 10 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 34 RBIs, 13 walks, and a stolen base. 

Freshman Sarah Potter scored the game-winning run in the Region I Division II Championship. She enters the World Series batting .336 with 36 runs, 41 hits, four doubles, eight home runs, 32 RBIs and 21 walks. 

Sophomore Jessica Gordon has appeaerd in 39 games primarliy as an outfielder. She enters the World Series batting .319 with 23 runs, 29 hits, five doubles, four home runs, 26 RBIs, seven walks, and six stolen bases.