SMCC Baseball Battles with Salt Lake CC in Season-Opening Series

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (1-3) opened its 2025 season with a four-game, neutral-site series with Salt Lake CC at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah. The Cougars won game one of the series 8-3 (7 innings) behind a strong pitching performance from sophomore David Galindo. However, the Bruins rallied and won the series' final three games: 9-8 (11 innings), 10-5 (7 innings), and 4-0. 

Game One Recap

Galindo, who went 5-4 with three saves as a freshman in 2024, tossed five innings of one-hit scoreless baseball to help lift the Cougars to an 8-3, seven-inning victory on Jan. 24. He fanned eight SLCC batters and walked one to earn his first win of the season. 

Offensively, the Cougars pounded out 13 singles and opened the game with a six-run first inning. Freshman Bryan Lorenz led the charge for SMCC, finishing 3 for 4 with two runs scored. 

Sophomores Marcus Romero and Brady Lord added two hits apiece, with Romero driving in two, stealing a bag, and scoring once, while Lord posted two RBIs. Freshman Drew Johnson also had a pair of RBIs, including a sacrifice fly and a stolen base in his SMCC debut and sophomore Landon Springmeyer scored a pair of runs. 

Sophomores Jack Cecil and Matt Elliot each tossed an inning of relief in the win. 

Game Two Recap

SMCC led 7-1 entering the bottom of the eighth only to see SLCC strike for six runs in the frame and tie the game. The teams stayed tied until the 11th when SMCC scratched across a run. Again, the Bruins responded and plated a pair of runs with two outs to win the game 9-8. 

Three Cougars posted two hits in the loss: freshman Bobby Pierce Jr., sophomore Jaden Upper, and sophomore Brayden Grantham. Pierce Jr. hit a solo home run to lead off the 11th inning and finished 2 for 5 with two runs, a walk, and the RBI.  

Upper collected a pair of singles with two runs and an RBI, while Grantham went 2 for 5 with a run and a double. Sophomores Joe Terranova and Luke Jones added doubles, as did Lorenz. Jones and Terranova had two RBIs each, and Lorenz had a two-run, pinch-hit double. 

Sophomore Maxton Peck scored a pair of runs, and Johnson scored once and stole a base. 

Freshman Sam Yeager took the loss on the mound with 2.1 innings of relief with two unearned runs and three walks. Sophomore Fabian Ibarra started the game for the Cougars and went four innings with zero hits, one walk, one unearned run, and seven strikeouts. 

Luis Martin Romero tossed four innings with six K's and six earned runs and freshman Thomas Peck also saw time on the bump. 

Game Three Recap

SMCC fell 10-5 in seven innings in the first game of a doubleheader on Jan. 25. SLCC jumped out to a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second. SMCC responded with three runs to cut the lead to 4-3, but the Bruins answered back with four in the top of the third to reclaim an 8-3 lead. 

The Cougars got back to within 8-5 with two in the fifth, but the Bruins tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh to seal the victory. 

Five Cougars recorded a hit in the loss. Springmeyer hit a three-run home run in the second, and sophomore Raul Parada recorded his first double of the year and a run. Johnson and Romero added RBIs and Romero and Terranova recorded stolen bases. Freshman Derek Montijo and Lorenz scored runs in addition to Johnson, Springmeyer, and Parada. 

Sophomore Michael Caruso took the loss on the hill for SMCC, surrendering 10 hits and eight earned runs in 2.1 innings of work. Freshman Braeden McCarroll, freshman Adin Oeltjen, and sophomore Santiago DiBene all saw time in relief. 

Game Four Recap

The Cougars fell 4-0 in the series finale. SLCC broke a scoreless deadlock with three runs in the second and added a run in the sixth. 

Five Cougars had hits in the loss, with Pierce recording his first double of the season. Grantham drew the team's only walk. 

Freshman Lukas Geisler took the loss on the mound for SMCC. He allowed five hits and three earned runs with three K's in four innings. Freshman Quinn Robertson threw the final five innings, fanning four and working around four hits and an unearned run.