SMCC Baseball Battles with Central Arizona, Yavapai College

PHOENIX ---

Over the past week, the South Mountain Community College baseball team (31-22, 21-15 ACCAC) battled with Central Arizona and Yavapai College in four ACCAC contests. The Cougars fell 2-1 and 8-7 to the Vaqueros on April 19 and 20 before splitting a doubleheader with the Roughriders on April 23 by winning game one 7-3 before falling 21-6 (7 innings) in game two. 

Central Arizona Recap (April 19 and 20)

The Cougars fell in a pair of one-run contests to the Vaqueros. In game one, SMCC got a solo home run from freshman Raul Parada in the second to take an early lead. However, Central Arizona tied the game in the fourth and pushed across the winning run in the seventh. 

Parada finished 3 for 4 in the loss, and freshman Joe Terranova posted a double. Freshman Christopher Mata, sophomore Wylie Waters, and sophomore Karsen Waslefsky added singles for SMCC. 

Sophomore Fabian Ibarra started the game and went four innings with one hit, one run, three walks, and two strikeouts. Sophomore Kaden Gray and freshman Luis Martin Romero tossed two innings of relief, and sophomore Stryder Salas took the loss after allowing an earned run. 

In the second game of the series, the Vaqueros held on for an 8-7 victory. Central Arizona got a two-run home run in the top of the seventh, and although Waters hit a solo home run in half of the frame, the Cougars could not complete the comeback. 

SMCC trailed 4-0 as they entered the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Marcus Romero scored on an error, sophomore Niko Rosell delivered an RBI single to score Waters, and freshman Landon Springmeyer hit a two-out, two-run single to tie the game. 

After Waters' home run in the seventh, another two-run home run put Central Arizona back ahead 8-5. SMCC would scratch across a pair of runs in the eighth on an error and an RBI single from Romero. 

Romero finished 3 for 5 with a run and an RBI, while Waters was 3 for 5 with two runs and an RBI. Rosell was 2 for 5 with one run and one RBI, and Springmeyer was 1 for 2 with a run, two RBIs, and a walk. 

Alex Urias-Calvillo started the game for SMCC and went 3.2 innings with four hits, three earned runs, three walks, and two strikeouts. Brandon Koble went 2.1 innings with four hits and three strikeouts, and Mata, Matthew Lighthall, and David Galindo also saw time in relief. 

Yavapai College Doubleheader Recap (April 23)

The Cougars used the long ball in game one to defeat the Roughriders 7-3. Romero hit a grand slam in the second, and Waters blasted a three-run home run in the fourth. 

Yavapai led 3-0 early after hitting a pair of home runs off SMCC starter Nikolas Miller. However, Miller rebounded and earned his 10th win of the season with 5.1 innings of work. He worked around nine hits, one walk, three earned runs and struck out five. Lighthall earned the save with 1.2 innings of hitless relief. 

Terranova had a pair of hits, Romero scored twice in addition to his home run, and sophomores Carlos Vega and Jaden Miranda scored runs. Springmeyer also scored a run after drawing a walk. 

SMCC committed five errors en route to the 21-6, seven-inning loss in game two of the doubleheader. SMCC led 1-0 in the second, but YC scored five in their half and added five more in the third to lead 10-2. The Roughriders scored 10 runs in the fifth and added a run in the sixth to post the run-rule victory. 

Terranova hit two doubles in the loss and finished 2 for 3 with two runs, an RBI, and a walk. Romero added a double and scored a run, Waslefsky had a double and a run scored, and Parada had the team's fifth double with an RBI and a walk. 

Freshman Stephen Hernandez started the game for SMCC and pitched 2.2 innings, allowing eight hits, five earned runs, three walks, and two strikeouts. Gray, Koble, Martin Romero and freshman Matt Elliot saw time in relief.