SMCC Baseball Defeats Glendale CC, Madison College

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (24-11, 17-3 ACCAC) swept an ACCAC series with Glendale CC, winning 11-1 (5 innings) on Mar. 18 and 12-4 (7 innings) on Mar. 19, and defeated Madison College 11-3 (7 innings) on Mar. 20 to continue its strong play. Sophomore Raul Parada had seven hits and five RBIs, sophomore Joe Terranova scored seven runs and hit three doubles, and freshman Bryan Lorenz posted seven hits and seven RBIs over the three victories. On the mound, freshman Lukas Geisler, sophomore Luis Martin Romero, and sophomore Jack Cecil turned in impressive performances to help lead the Cougars to victory. 

Glendale CC Mar. 18 Recap 

The Cougars scored nine runs in the first innings, highlighted by a leadoff home run from freshman Bobby Pierce Jr., to record the run-rule victory. 

After Pierce Jr.'s second home run of the year, the Cougars mounted a two-out rally to plate eight more runs in the frame. Lorenz drew a walk, a pitch hit freshman Drew Johnson and sophomore Luke Jones brought in Lorenz with an RBI single. Johnson stole home, a pitch hit sophomore Landon Springmeyer and sophomore Maxton Peck drew a walk to load the bases. 

Sophomore Christopher Mata and Pierce drew walks to earn RBIs, a pitch hit Terranova bring in another run, and Parada drew another bases-loaded free pass. Lorenz then drove home Pierce Jr. and Terranova to give SMCC a 9-0 advantage. 

An error in the fourth brought in another SMCC run, and Johnson hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Terranova and end the game. 

Parada was 2 for 3 with an RBI and a walk, and Pierce Jr. had two runs and two RBIs. Lorenz also had two RBIs, and Springmeyer and Terranova scored twice. 

Geisler improved to 5-1 on the season with a five-inning complete game. He scattered four hits and one earned run with two strikeouts. 

Glendale CC Mar. 19 Recap

The Cougars' offense continued to click in a 12-4, seven-inning road victory. Parada and Lorenz led the charge with three hits apiece, with Parada doubling twice and scoring three times and Lorenz driving in two. 

After a scoreless first inning, SMCC scored six in the second. Jones walked, and Springmeyer doubled to put runners in scoring position with no outs. Peck brought in Jones with a sacrifice fly and sophomore Marcus Romero made it 2-0 with an RBI single to score Springmeyer. 

Pierce Jr. walked to move Romero to second, and both scored on a two-run double from Terranova. Parada then plated Terranova with an RBI single, and with two outs, Parada scored on a wild pitch. 

After GCC scored once in the bottom of the second, SMCC got the run back plus more in the third when Terranova drew a bases-loaded walk. With two outs in the frame, Lorenz hit a two-run single, and Johnson blasted an RBI double to put the Cougars ahead 10-1. 

In the fifth, Parada led off the frame with a double and scored on an RBI single from Jones to make it 11-3 SMCC. The seventh saw Parada double again, freshman Gavin Short single to put runners on the corners, and Johnson made it 12-4 with an RBI single. 

Johnson was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and the double, while Terranova doubled with two RBIs and two runs. Pierce Jr. walked and scored twice, and Peck added a stolen base. 

Martin Romero started the game for SMCC and threw 4.1 innings. He allowed six hits, two earned runs, and one walk to go with four strikeouts. Freshman Robert Whitaker tossed the final 2.2 innings with three strikeouts, one walk, and no hits allowed to earn his first win of the season.  

Madison College Mar. 20 Recap 

In a meeting between two nationally ranked clubs, the Cougars prevailed with 11 unanswered runs after the Wolfpack scored three unearned in the first. 

Pierce Jr. walked and moved to third on a double from Terranova. Parada plated both with a single to center, and Lorenz brought him home to tie the game with an RBI triple. Jones recorded an RBI groundout to score Lorenz.

SMCC quickly made it 5-3 in the second when Jones hit an RBi single to score Terranova, who doubled to start the frame. In the fourth, sophomore Zac Chapman hit a two-out RBI single to score Lorenz, and Parada and Lorenz added run-scoring base hits in the fifth to give SMCC a 9-3 advantage. 

Romero recorded an RBI single in the sixth to score Chapman, who ended the game with an RBI single in the seventh. 

Lorenz was 3 for 4 with two runs, three RBIs, and a triple, while Terranova was 2 for 3 with three runs and two doubles. Parada went 2 for 4 with three runs and three RBIs, and Chapman was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, a run, and a stolen base. Romero added the second Cougar stolen base. 

Cecil improved to 2-0 on the year with six innings of work. He fanned three and scattered three hits, allowing just one after the first inning, plus one walk. Freshman Quinn Robertson tossed the seventh for SMCC.