Cougar Baseball Wins Division II West District Championship

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (47-17) won the decisive game three of the NJCAA Division II West District Championship 10-9 over South Arkansas College on Saturday, May 17 at the SMCC Baseball Field. With the series win over the Stars, the Cougars have earned an automatic bid to the 2025 NJCAA Division II World Series at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma, from May 24-31. 

SMCC won game one 7-4 on May 15, but fell 9-4 in game two on May 16 to South Arkansas. In the decisive third game and playing as the designated visiting team, the Cougars scored two runs with two outs in the top of the ninth to take a 10-9 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore Christopher Mata got the final three outs to earn the win and send the Cougars to the World Series! 

The Cougars will learn their seed in the NJCAA Division II World Series at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20 during the NJCAA Division II World Series Selection Show at NJCAA.org. 

Game Three Recap

The Cougars and Stars engaged in a dramatic, back-and-forth affair, with SMCC rallying from an early 5-1 deficit to set up the ninth's dramatics.

Down to their final three outs, the Cougars' rally started when sophomore Marcus Romero reached on an error with one out. Sophomore Landon Springmeyer and freshman Nuri Todd drew walks to load the bases with two down, and freshman Bobby Pierce Jr. drew a third-straight free pass to tie the game. Sophomore Joe Terranova drew another walk in the next at-bat to give SMCC the lead. 

Mata got a ground out and a strikeout to start the bottom of the ninth before hitting a pair of batters to put the tying run into scoring position. However, he induced a flyout to right fielder Raul Parada to end the game and complete the comeback. 

The Cougars trailed 5-1 entering the top of the fifth, but got three runs in the frame to draw back to within one. Todd singled and Pierce Jr. walked to start the inning, and both scored on a two-out, two-run double from sophomore Luke Jones. Freshman Bryan Lorenz followed that with an RBI single to center to score Jones to make it 5-4 Stars. 

SMCC took a 7-5 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. Freshman Drew Johnson and Springmeyer drew walks, and Todd singled to load the bases with no outs. With one down, an error off the bat of Terranova allowed Johnson and Springmeyer to score, and Parada hit a sacrifice fly to put SMCC ahead by two. 

The Stars were undeterred and got a three-run home run from Ty Simonelli, his fourth of the weekend, in their half of the seventh to reclaim an 8-7 advantage. 

The Cougars fought back immediately as Lorenz led off the top of the seventh with a double. He moved to third on a single from Romero, and Springmeyer executed a squeeze bunt to tie the game. 

Still, South Arkansas had yet another answer as it cashed in a lead-off triple in the bottom of the eighth to take a 9-8 lead and set up the ninth's dramatics. 

SMCC led 1-0 after half an inning when Jones delivered a two-out RBI single to score Terranova. However, the Stars answered in the bottom half with three runs to take a 3-1 lead. Simonelli hit his first home run in the second to make it 5-1. 

Mata tossed the final two innings to earn the win. He walked one, struck out one, and did not allow a hit. Sophomore Fabian Ibarra started the game for SMCC and went one inning with three hits, three earned runs, and a walk.

Sophomore Michael Caruso tossed a crucial 4.1 innings of relief with three hits, four earned runs, four walks, and five strikeouts. Sophomore Matt Elliot tossed 1.2 innings, allowing four hits and one earned run. 

Jones finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs, a double, and a run scored, while Lorenz was 2 for 5 with a double, a run, and an RBI. Todd was the third Cougar with two hits, finishing 2 for 4 with two runs and a walk.

Game Two Recap

The Stars returned from a game-one loss to hit three home runs and post a 9-4 victory to send the series to a decisive third game. 

Playing as the visiting team, SMCC took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third on a two-out RBI single from Parada that scored Pierce Jr. 

However, South Arkansas answered with three runs in the bottom half, including a two-run blast from Simonelli. SMCC cut it to 3-2 in the sixth when Johnson hit an RBI double to score Romero. 

Again, the Stars immediately responded with three runs in their half of the frame as Simonelli hit his second two-run homer. 

The Cougars got a run in the seventh on an RBI groundout from Jones, but South Arkansas hit a solo home run in their half to re-establish its four-run advantage. 

A pitch hit Pierce Jr. with the bases loaded in the eighth, but the Stars got two insurance runs in their half of the eighth to seal the victory. 

Terranova finished 2 for 4 with a walk and a double, and Springmeyer added the team's third two-base hit. Todd and Romero had a hit and scored a run. 

Freshman Lukas Geisler took the loss on the mound for SMCC. He started the game and went three innings with four hits, three earned runs, one walk, and two strikeouts.

Freshman Grant Young tossed 3.1 innings with three hits, four earned runs, four walks, and two strikeouts, and freshman Braeden McCarroll went 1.2 innings with two hits, one earned run, two walks, and a strikeout. 

Game One Recap

The Cougars opened the series with a 7-4 victory behind several big offensive performances. 

SMCC got a run in the first on an RBI single from Parada to score Pierce Jr. The Cougars made it 3-0 in the third as Parada picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded error, and a pitch hit Jones during the next at-bat to force in another run. 

Lorenz made it 4-0 in the fifth with an RBI groundout. However, the Stars fought back and scored three in the sixth and one in the seventh to tie the game. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Lorenz hit a two-out RBI double to score Terranova and put SMCC ahead for good. The Cougars added two insurance runs in the eighth with Terranova and Jones recording RBIs. 

Mata tossed the final 1.2 innings to earn the save. He allowed one walk and zero hits while fanning two. Freshman Thomas Peck got an out to end the seventh and one to start the eighth to earn the win. Sophomore Luis Martin Romero started the game for SMCC and went 6.2 innings with nine hits, four earned runs, two walks, and seven K's. 

Pierce Jr. finished 4 for 5 with four runs, while Lorenz and Jones had two RBIs. Todd and Terranova had a hit and scored a run, and Parada had an RBI.