No. 16 Cougar Softball Finishes 5-1 at CSN Classic

PHOENIX ---

The No. 16 South Mountain Community College softball team (5-1) finished 5-1 at the CSN Classic Jan. 28-29 in Henderson, Nev. The 16th-ranked Cougars went 3-0 on Jan. 28, defeating Southern Idaho (9-6), Utah State-Eastern (12-7) and Colorado Northwestern CC (9-7). On Saturday, Jan. 29, SMCC downed Snow College (12-4) and the host school, Southern Nevada (14-12), and lost a close contest to No. 5 Salt Lake CC.

Southern Idaho Recap

The Cougars won their season opener, posting two home runs and a triple to defeat Southern Idaho 9-6.

Batting leadoff, freshman Kayliana Sablan finished 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Another rookie making her SMCC debut, Mariah Martinez, hit a home run and went 1-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs.

Sophomore Taylor Mount finished 2-for-4 with two runs and a triple. Fellow sophomore Tara Lorona was 1-for-3 with two runs and a stolen base. Freshman Carolina Olivas had two hits and scored a run, and fellow rookie Annalise Chavez had a base hit, RBI and a stolen base.

Sophomore Rylie Atherton (1-0) won the circle, tossing a complete game with five walks and four earned runs over seven innings.

Utah State-Eastern

The Cougars continued to swing a hot bat on opening day, collecting 13 hits in a 12-7 victory over Utah State-Eastern. SMCC produced four home runs, three doubles and seven stolen bases in the win.

Martinez homered for the second time in as many games, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. She also recorded a save in the circle, tossing the final 1.2 innings of the game with one hit and one walk.

Sophomore Christian Smith (1-0) earned her first win of the season in the circle. She went 5.1 innings with two strikeouts and five earned runs.

Lorona blasted her first home run of the season and went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs. Chavez also homered and went 2-for-2 with a run and three RBIs. Sophomore Jaudrey Ah Quin was the fourth Cougar to go deep, finishing 2-for-2 with a run and RBI.

Mount went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, two RBIs and three stolen bases, and Olivas and Sablan had two in the victory.

Colorado Northwestern CC Recap

SMCC finished off a 3-0 opening day with a 9-7 victory over Colorado Northwestern CC. The Cougars had six doubles and two stolen bases in the win.

Martinez wrapped up an impressive day at the dish with a 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs, and an RBI. She also earned her first win in the circle, pitching the final 3.2 innings with three strikeouts and one unearned run allowed.

Ah Quin finished 3-for-4 with two runs, three RBIs and a stolen base from the leadoff spot. Mount had a double and two RBIs, and freshman Kate Hogan also had two RBIs and a double.

Sophomore Lauren Russell had the Cougars' sixth double of the game, and four other Cougars had base hits in the win.

Smith started the game and tossed 3.1 innings with four earned runs and four strikeouts.

Snow College Recap

SMCC opened its second day of the tournament with a 12-4 victory over Snow College, collecting five home runs and two doubles in the win.

Five Cougars had two hits in the win: Ah Quin, Martinez, Chavez, Olivas and freshman Monica Chon. Ah Quin went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and five RBIs, Martinez was 2-for-4 with a home run, and Chavez finished 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and a home run.

Olivas finished 2-for-2 with three runs, an RBI and a stolen base, and Chon went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Russell and Hogan hit their first home runs of the season, with Hogan collecting two RBIs and Rusell scoring twice.

Smith (2-0) won her second game in the circle, tossing 3.0 innings with three strikeouts and four earned runs. Martinez tossed the final 3.0 innings and had four K's with two hits.

Salt Lake CC Recap

The Cougars fell 12-0 in five innings to No. 5 Salt Lake CC in their only defeat of the weekend. Mount had two hits, and Hogan smacked a double in the loss.

Atherton (1-1) took the loss in the circle for SMCC. She tossed all five innings and had three strikeouts to go with seven earned runs.

College of Southern Nevada Recap

The Cougars wrapped up their time in Nevada with a 14-12 victory over the host Coyotes. In the victory, Hogan hit two of SMCC's four home runs and added a stolen base, finishing 3-for-4 with three runs and five RBIs. 

Chavez blasted her third home run of the weekend and finished with two runs and two RBIs. Russell hit her second home run of the weekend and went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Olivas finished 2-for-4 with a run, two RBIs and a double.

Martinez earned her second win in the circle, tossing 6.2 innings with three walks and seven earned runs. Smith recorded the final out of the game to seal the victory.