SMCC Softball Collects Multiple All-Conference and All-Region Awards
PHOENIX ---
Four members of the South Mountain Community College softball team received All-ACCAC honors. In addition, three of those Cougars earned NJCAA Region I Division II honors, the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference announced on May 10. Mia Stankiewicz (First Team), Alexa Key (Second Team), Jackie Traughber (Third Team) and Christian Smith (Third Team) secured a spot on the All-ACCAC teams, while Stankiewicz, Traughber and Smith collected All-Region honors.
"We are proud of our all-conference players. They have truly set a standard for South Mountain CC in the future," said SMCC head coach Brittney Matta. "They have been critical parts of our success, and we cannot wait to see them play in the postseason. I am excited to see where Mia and Alexa end up at the NCAA Division I level this fall."
Stankiewicz led the conference and all of the NJCAA Division II with a .600 batting average during the regular season, finishing 60-for-100 at the plate for the year. She also led the ACCAC in on-base (.664) and slugging percentage (1.300) and tied for the league lead with 64 RBIs. In addition, Stankiewicz finished among the league's top five in multiple categories: 57 runs (2nd), 18 doubles (tied for 3rd), five triples (tied for 2nd), 14 home runs (tied for 3rd), 21 stolen bases (third).
She hit a season-high three home runs in a road win at Glendale CC and had two games with two home runs. She earned NJCAA Division II National Player of the Week honors on Mar. 10 after batting .714 (10-of-14) with eight runs, 11 RBIs, two home runs, four doubles, two triples and five stolen bases in wins over Paradise Valley CC and Eastern Arizona.
Key played every inning in centerfield for the Cougars in 2021 and led the ACCAC with 35 stolen bases. She finished third in the conference with 56 runs scored, ranked fourth with 64 hits and tied for fifth with four triples. She also finished sixth among conference players with a .516 batting average and .574 on-base percentage. She had 11 games with multiple steals and scored a season-high four runs in four games.
Traughber was a dual-threat all season and earned a Third-Team Utility player All-ACCAC award. In the circle, she finished the regular season at 15-6 with a 3.61 ERA, 16 complete games and 97 strikeouts in 122 innings of work. At the plate, Traughber batted .434 with 35 runs, eight doubles, five triples, two home runs, 37 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
Traughber finished second in wins and innings pitched among conference pitchers, seventh in strikeouts and eighth in ERA. She tied for second in triples among conference hitters, tied for 14th in RBIs and tied for 12th in stolen bases.
Smith was another dual-threat for the Cougars, excelling at the plate and in the circle throughout the year. As a pitcher, she finished 10-5 with a 4.70 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 79 innings of work. She tied for sixth in the conference in wins, finished 12th in ERA and ranked 14th in K's. At the plate, Smith batted .333 with 12 runs, two doubles, 11 RBIs and four stolen bases.
The Cougars are the second seed in the NJCAA Region I Division II tournament May 13-15 at Phoenix College. They open the event with a 10 a.m. contest against Chandler-Gilbert CC on May 13.