SMCC Baseball Wins Zinger Bats Invitational, Jimenez Named MVP

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team won all four games at the Zinger Bats Invitational on Feb. 3-5 at Sloan Park. The Cougars defeated Lamar CC 6-3 and El Paso CC 5-3 on Feb. 3, Salt Lake CC 5-4 on Feb. 4, and Pima CC 5-0 on Feb. 5 to win the event. Sophomore Kenneth Jimenez was named MVP for his performance at the event as the Cougars improved to 8-0 on the season. 

Pima CC Recap 

The Cougars posted a 5-0 shutout over their ACCAC rival Aztecs in the Championship Game of the event on Feb. 5. SMCC scored two runs in the second and third and tacked on a run in the fourth to back up a group of four Cougar pitchers who silenced the Pima CC bats. 

Jacob Beltran (2-0) earned the win with six innings of five-hit baseball. He struck out four and walked three to post his second win of the season. Alex Urias-Calvillo tossed two innings of relief with four K's, Fabian Ibarra saw action, and Matthew Martinez recorded the final two outs in the win. 

Offensively, Karsen Waslefsky led SMCC with three base hits, two runs and an RBI. Jayden Smith went 2-for-6 with a run and an RBI, and Carter Richey had a double. 

Connor Schneider and Jaden Miranda scored runs, and Kyle Alexander and Miranda had RBIs. 

Salt Lake CC Recap

The Cougars rallied dramatically to defeat the Bruins 5-4. Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Waslefsky singled to drive home Connor Schneider from second and tie the game. In the ninth, Smith doubled with one out, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a two-out RBI single from Jimenez to win the game and improve to 5-0 against SLCC in 2023.

Jimenez finished 3-for-5 with a solo home run, two RBIs, and a run scored. Waslefsky also had three hits, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI. 

Smith and Carter Richey had two hits apiece in the win. Smith was 2-for-5 with a double, a run and an RBI, and Richey was 2-for-4 with a double. Schneider added a pair of runs.

On the mound, Jackson Thomas (1-0) picked up his first win of the year with an inning of relief. He allowed one hit and fanned one. Raul Garayzar started the game for the Cougars and went 6.0 innings with seven K's, two walks and two earned runs. Coleman Anderson and Josaiah Estrella saw time in relief as well for SMCC. 

El Paso CC Recap

SMCC led early and held off an eighth-inning rally to defeat El Paso CC 5-3 on Feb. 3. The Cougars scored a run in the first, two in the fourth and one in the sixth and seventh. 

Nikolas Miller (2-0) earned his second win of the year on the mound with five innings of five-hit work. He had four strikeouts, worked around a pair of walks, and allowed one earned run. Austin Balmes tossed two innings of relief with three K's and an earned run, and Matthew Martinez recorded his third save of the year by pitching the game's final two innings with two strikeouts. 

Waslefsky, Jimenez and Smith all had two hits in the win. Smith and Jimenez doubled, with Smith scoring a pair of runs, an RBI and a stolen base, and Jimenez recording two RBIs. Waslefsky was 2-for-4 with a steal, and Sam Christiansen and Miranda also had stolen bases. 

Michael Diaz had a single, a run and an RBI, Dominic Chacon scored a run, and Richey had an RBI. 

Lamar CC Recap

SMCC jumped out to a 4-0 lead through four innings, added two in the eighth and then held off a Lamar CC three-run rally in the ninth to win 6-3 on Feb. 3. 

Jimenez was a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBIs, a double and a walk, and Richey finished 2-for-3 with two runs and a double. Diaz also had two hits and scored a run, and Christiansen went 1-for-3 with two runs and a stolen base. 

Jaxon Jelkin (2-0) earned his second win of the season with five innings of shutout work. He fanned 12 batters, walked one and worked around three hits. Brandon Koble picked up his first save of the season with four innings of relief. He fanned seven, walked one and allowed three unearned runs.