SMCC Baseball Topples CGCC Twice to Extend Winning Streak

The South Mountain Community College baseball team posted a pair of victories over Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona Community College Athletic Conference contests over the weekend. The Cougars defeated the Coyotes 4-2 on Feb. 28 and then held on for a 5-4 victory on Feb. 29 to extend their winning streak to eight-straight games.

In game one, sophomore Jack Radford picked up the win with 5.2 innings of work. He struck out five and allowed one earned run to record his first victory of the season. The lefthander is 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA and 27 K's in five starts and 21.1 innings of work for the year.

Fellow sophomore Shawn Triplett earned hist first save of the season with 1.1 innings of work and three strikeouts.  He has made eight appearances this year, posting a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings of work. Derek Decolati and Brendan Anderson also saw action for the Cougars, helping preserve the win.

Offensively, Easton Erwin went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI. Brodie Marino added a double and an RBI, while Holden Breeze, Efrain Cervantes, Justin Quinn, Davis Heller and JD Wadleigh recorded base hits.

After the Coyotes pushed a run across in the first, the Cougars responded with three in the second. With runners on the corners, Ricky Munoz moved to second on a wild play when Heller successfully stole home.  Erwin cracked an RBI double to plate Munoz, and Marino then scored Erin with an RBI double of his own.

The Coyotes cut the lead to one in the eighth before SMCC got the run back in its half of the frame. Cervantes produced an RBI single to score Breeze to give Triplett a two-run cushion in the ninth.

The second game saw the Cougars withstand a late rally in the bottom of the ninth. The Coyotes scored three runs and had the winning run at the plate before Carter Krosky recorded the final two outs to earn his first save of the season.

Brayden Brooks recorded the win for South Mountain Community College. He tossed six innings and had four strikeouts with one earned run. He is 5-1 with a 2.48 ERA and 32 K's in five starts and 29 innings of work this year.

SMCC had jumped out to a 4-1 lead through five innings. In the second, Heller hit an RBI double to score Quinn, and he then scored on an RBI single from Marino. With the bases loaded, a pitch hit Breeze to force home Munoz.

After CGCC scored a run in the third, the Cougars restored their three-run advantage in the fifth when Cervantes scored on a wild pitch. SMCC made it 5-1 in the eighth when Dustin Bermudez hit an RBI double to score Breeze.

The Cougars totaled four doubles in the win, and Breeze finished 2 for 4 with a double, RBI and stolen base.

South Mountain Community College returns to action on Tuesday, Mar. 3 with an ACCAC doubleheader against Eastern Arizona. Game one starts at noon.