Cougar Baseball Splits with Arizona Western

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (22-9, 16-8 ACCAC) split an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference doubleheader against Arizona Western on Tuesday, Apr. 6, losing 6-5 in the first game before winning 8-3 in the nightcap. In the first game, the Cougars nearly tied the game in the seventh before the Matadors escaped with the final out and the victory. In the second game, Justin Quinn and Brodie Marino hit home runs and Brice Martinez stole three bases as the Cougars used a five-run fourth to push past AWC. 

Game One

Arizona Western held off an SMCC rally to post the 6-5 victory. SMCC scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Matadors had plated a pair of insurance runs in their half of the frame. 

Noah Bachman started the rally with a wind-aided double, and he moved to third on a wild pitch. Mason Skaugrud drew a walk, and Braden Campbell brought Bachman home with an RBI double. The following two batters, Dustin Bermudez and Dylan Fesperman, delivered sacrifice flies, but the Matadors then recorded the third out and claimed the win. 

Four Cougars had a double in the defeat: McKay Barney, Campbell, Bermudez and Bachman. Barney had a team-high two hits, and Campbell scored a team-high two runs. SMCC scored twice in the third Clayton Kempski brought Campbell home with an RBI groundout, and Martinez had an RBI single to score Bermudez. 

Carter Krosky (4-2) started the game on the mound and had four strikeouts to go with four earned runs and three walks. Ben Meyerson and TJ Czyz also saw time on the hill for the Cougars. 

Game Two

SMCC used a five-run fourth inning to take the lead, and Trent Adams, Matt Bohnert and Shawn Triplett limited Arizona Western to two hits over the final 5.1 innings of the game. 

Three Cougars had multiple hits in the game: Quinn, Skaugrud and Esteban Hernandez. Quinn was 3-for-4 with a run, two RBIs, a walk and his team-leading fifth home run of the season. Skaugrud was 3-of-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Hernandez went 2-for-4 with two runs. 

Marino finished 1-for-2 with a run, a walk, a season-high four RBIs and his third home run of the year. Martinez went 1-for-4 with a run and a walk, and the three stolen bases increased his season total to a team-high 16. That figure ranks seventh in the ACCAC.  

Adams (6-0) entered with two outs in the fourth and tossed 2.1 innings of one-hit relief with four strikeouts to spark the team and earn the win. Bohnert tossed 1.1 innings with three strikeouts to record the hold, and Triplett had two strikeouts over the final 1.2 innings to procure his conference-leading ninth save of the season. 

Trailing 2-0 in the fourth, AWC beaned Bermudez to start the inning, and Skaugrud singled to move him up 90 feet. Hernandez loaded the bases with a bunt single, and Bermudez scored on a passed ball that also advanced the other runners up a base. Marino brought Skaugrud home with a sac fly, Hernandez scored on a wild pitch, and with two outs, Quinn cleared the bases with a two-run home run. 

Marino hit a two-out, three-run home run to give the Cougars some extra cushioning for the ninth in the eighth. 

Charlie Deeds started the game for SMCC, tossing 1.1 innings with a walk and a strikeout. Nolan Livsey threw 2.2 innings and worked around five hits and two walks to allow only one run. 

The Cougars continue their homestand with an Apr. 10 conference doubleheader against Eastern Arizona, with the first game starting at noon. The Cougars then host Cochise College on Apr. 13 for a doubleheader and Paradise Valley CC in a non-conference contest on Apr. 14.