SMCC Extends Winning Streak with Victories over El Paso CC, New Mexico JC
| Final (11) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New Mexico Junior College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
|
South Mountain Community College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
El Paso Community College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
|
South Mountain Community College | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 3 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
El Paso Community College | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
|
South Mountain Community College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | X | 7 | 8 | 0 |
PHOENIX ---
The South Mountain Community College baseball team swept El Paso CC in a doubleheader on Feb. 3 and defeated No. 19 New Mexico JC on Feb. 4 in three home games as part of the 2024 Zinger Classic. The Cougars swept the Tejanos 5-2 (7 innings) and 7-4, then beat the Thunderbirds 3-2 (11 innings) to extend their winning streak to four games.
El Paso CC Recap
The Cougars struck for five runs in the first inning, and sophomore Nikolas Miller tossed six innings of three-hit baseball as the Cougars defeated the Tejanos 5-2 in the first game of the doubleheader.
Miller did not allow a baserunner until the fourth inning and did not allow a hit until the fifth to earn his first win of the season. He recorded eight strikeouts and worked around a pair of earned runs.
Freshman Christopher Mata tossed the seventh and retired the side to earn his first save of the year.
Offensively, sophomore Jaden Miranda hit a two-run home run in the first, and Landon Springmeyer and Marcus Romero picked up RBIs. Sophomores Dominic Chacon and Niko Rosell each scored runs and Springmeyer added a double.
Freshman Joe Terranova, sophomore Karsen Waslefsky, Rosell, and Miranda had stolen bases in the victory.
In game two, EPCC struck for three runs off SMCC starter Matthew Lighthall. However, the Cougars clawed their way back into the game, tying it in the fifth and overcoming a 4-3 deficit later with a run in the seventh and three in the eighth.
Waslefsky recorded a sacrifice fly in the fourth to draw SMCC within 3-1. In the fifth, Rosell plated Brady Lord with an RBI double, and freshman Luke Jones knocked in Miranda with an RBI single to tie the game.
After EPCC scored a run in the top of the sixth, Rosell homered in the seventh to tie the game again. Miranda had an RBI single in the eighth to score sophomore Carlos Vega, and Chacon blasted a two-run home run.
Sophomore Brandon Koble picked up his first win of the season with three innings of scoreless relief. He fanned six batters, walked one, and allowed one hit on the mound. Sophomore Alex Urias-Calvillo tossed five innings of relief with four strikeouts, two walks, and one earned run.
New Mexico JC Recap
The Cougars defeated their second nationally ranked foe with a 3-2, 11-inning victory over No. 19 New Mexico JC.
Lord started the rally, roping a double into left field to begin the bottom of the 11th. The Thunderbirds then intentionally walked freshman Zac Chapman, and Lord tagged up to third with two outs. That brought up Romero, who blasted a ground ball deep into the hole and beat out the shortstop's throw for the game-winning single.
SMCC broke a scoreless deadlock in the seventh with a pair of runs. Romero, who entered the game as a pinch runner, scored on a wild pitch, and Mata, another pinch runner, later scored on an attempted double steal.
NMJC scratched across a run in the eighth and ninth to send the game into extra innings.
Freshman Max Mazinter started the game for SMCC and tossed five scoreless frames, fanning six and scattering three hits. Freshman Stephen Hernandez went 2.1 innings with five strikeouts and two hits.
