SMCC Softball Splits with Glendale CC

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College softball team (32-17, 24-12 ACCAC) split an ACCAC doubleheader with Glendale CC on April 19, winning game one 8-3 before falling 14-9 in the second contest. The Cougars slugged four home runs, and sophomore Alyssa Jemio tossed seven strong innings in the game-one victory. In game two, the Gauchos jumped out to an early lead and fended off a late Cougar rally to split the twin bill. 

Game One Recap

Nadia Rascon, Jessica Wallace, Michelle Balcazar, and McKenna Kraft went deep for the Cougars as they overcame an early deficit to post an 8-3 victory. 

After the Gauchos scored three unearned runs in the first, Wallace responded immediately with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom half that scored Jemio. The deep fly was Wallace's third home run of the year. 

Balcazar led off the second with a solo shot to left, and Kraft hit a two-run shot two batters later, scoring Kaeliann Glass and putting SMCC ahead 5-3. Rascon hit the third home run of the frame, a solo blast, with two outs. 

SMCC tacked on two runs in the third as one scored on an error, and the second came home on an RBI single from Tazia Blake.  

Balcazar went 2 for 3 with two runs and her fourth home run of the season, while Rascon was 2 for 4 with her team-leading 12th. Kraft hit her fifth home run of the campaign, and Glass scored a pair of runs and walked twice. 

Jemio allowed two hits over seven innings of work to improve to 9-5. She allowed three unearned runs and two walks to go with three strikeouts. 

Game Two Recap

The Gauchos struck for seven runs over the first three innings but saw SMCC pull to within 11-9 in the sixth. GCC then scored three insurance runs in the seventh to post the 14-9 victory. 

Trailing 7-0 in the fourth, Jemio recorded an RBI fielder's choice, and Balcazar collected a sacrifice fly to put SMCC on the scoreboard. 

SMCC scored five times in the fifth, starting with a sac fly from Glass. With two outs, Rascon blasted a two-run single, and Jemio brought her in with a two-run home run to bring the Cougars to within 10-7. 

In the sixth, Jerzey Jarvis collected an RBI double to score Jada Montoya, and she scored on a sac fly from Rascon to make the score 11-9. 

Leanio led SMCC with three hits and scored twice, while Rascon and Jemio had three RBIs apiece. Jarvis went 2 for 3 with two runs and the RBI double. 

Rebekah Mendoza started the game for SMCC in the circle, falling to 7-3 on the year after 2.1 innings of work. She allowed three hits, five earned runs, and three walks with two strikeouts. Jemio tossed 4.1 innings of relief work with nine hits, six earned runs, six walks, and three strikeouts.