SMCC Baseball Falls in West District Championship Final to Southern Nevada

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (38-27) lost 13-8 to the College of Southern Nevada on Saturday, May 18, in the NJCAA Division I Baseball West District Championship Final at the SMCC Baseball Field. The Cougars made it to Saturday's final in dramatic fashion when sophomore Carlos Vega blasted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Southeast CC (NE) 5-4 on Friday, May 17. Earlier that day, SMCC fell 10-5 to Southern Nevada, and the Cougars opened the event with an 8-4 victory over Southeast CC on Thursday, May 16. 

May 16 Southeast CC Recap 

The Region I Champion Cougars started the West District Championships with an 8-4 victory over the Bobcats. SMCC scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh to overcome a 4-3 deficit. 

Trailing by one, a pitch hit Marcus Romero to start the frame, and he moved to second on a single from Vega. Jaden Miranda executed a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up 90 feet, and Mata walked to load the bases with one out. Joe Terranova plated Romero and Vega with a two-run single to give SMCC the lead, and they added another run from Waters, an RBI fielder's choice. 

Chacon then blasted his first home run of the weekend, a two-run shot that scored Waters and gave SMCC an 8-4 lead it would not relinquish. 

Terranova, Waters, Miranda, Chacon, and Waslefsky led the Cougars with two hits apiece. Chacon scored three times and joined Waters and Terranova with two RBIs. Mata scored and walked twice, and Vega walked twice and scored once. 

Southeast hit a two-out, two-run home run in the first to take an early lead. SMCC got one run back in the first on an RBI single from Wylie Waters that scored Christopher Mata. SMCC tied the game in the bottom of the third with an RBI triple from Karsen Waslefsky that scored Dominic Chacon. 

The Bobcats took a 3-2 lead in the fourth, and Landon Springmeyer tied the game in the sixth with an RBI single that scored Chacon. 

After the Cougars battled back to tie the game in the sixth, the Bobcats immediately reclaimed the lead in the top of the seventh. 

Alex Urias-Calvillo earned the win and improved to 4-3 on the season with 3.1 innings of relief work. He had a strikeout and allowed four hits, one walk, and one run. David Galindo recorded the save by striking out the game's final batter. Nikolas Miller started the game for SMCC and went 5.1 innings with five hits, three runs, two walks, and eight strikeouts. 

May 17 Southern Nevada Recap

The Coyotes led 6-0 after five innings and held off a Cougar rally with four runs in the eighth to win 10-5 in the winner's bracket. 

SMCC got onto the board in the sixth with a Waters RBI single that scored Mata. In the seventh, Romero laced a two-run triple in the seventh that scored Springmeyer and Waslefsky, and he later scored on an error. 

Waters brought SMCC to within one run (6-5) in the eighth with a sac fly that scored Terranova. Romero went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, a run, and a triple, while Waters drove in a pair. 

Matthew Lighthall (2-3) took the loss for the Cougars on the mound. He started the game and went five innings with 10 hits, six runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. Max Mazinger tossed two innings of relief with three K's, two runs, and two walks, and Kaden Gray threw an inning. 

May 17 Southeast CC Recap

Vega blasted his first home run of the year off the batter's eye in center field to lift SMCC to the District Final. The Bobcats rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 4-4 and set up Vega's deep fly. 

After the Bobcats hit a solo home run in the second to take a 1-0 lead, Chacon ripped a two-run home run in the third to put SMCC ahead 2-1. In the fifth, Waslefsky slammed a two-run double into left that scored Chacon and Waters. 

Chacon finished 2 for 3 with two runs, two RBIs, and a walk in addition to his home run. Vega also had two hits and posted one run and one RBI. Waslefsky and Springmeyer collected doubles, and Mata scored a run and stole a base. 

Urias-Calvillo earned his second win of the weekend by getting the final two outs in the ninth. He had one strikeout and allowed three hits and one run. Fabian Ibarra started the game for SMCC and went four innings with four hits, one run, two walks, and seven strikeouts.

Luis Martin Romero tossed 1.2 innings of relief with two walks and one strikeout, and Galindo went 2.2 innings with three hits, two runs, two walks, and two K's. 

May 18 Southern Nevada Recap

The Cougars struck first, scoring in the first and the third to take a 2-0 lead. However, the Coyotes scored five runs in the fourth and responded to four Cougar runs in the top of the fifth with four of their own in their half of the frame. CSN added four in the sixth, and SMCC could get no closer than five runs in the 13-8 defeat. 

Chacon had an RBI single in the first to score Mata, and Waters added a sac fly in the third. 

In the fifth, SMCC took a brief 6-5 lead after Mata roped a solo home run, Waslefsky hit an RBI single, and Springmeyer added a two-run single. Vega homered in the sixth, and Mata added a sac fly in the eighth. 

Mata, Waslefsky, Waters, and Miranda had two hits to lead SMCC. Mata went 2 for 3 with two runs, two RBIs, a walk, and his second home run of the year. Waters added a double, a run, and an RBI, and Waslefsky added a stolen base to his run and RBI. 

Gray took the loss in relief for SMCC and had a strikeout with three runs and four hits. Stephen Hernandez started the game for SMCC and went 3.2 innings with five hits, four earned runs, three walks, and three strikeouts. Brandon Koble, Matt Elliot, and Max Mazinter also saw time in relief, and Mazinter struck out six over three innings.