SMCC Baseball Wins a Pair against Paradise Valley CC

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (21-7, 9-5 ACCAC) defeated Paradise Valley 7-3 on Mar. 10 and 11-4 on Mar. 11 in a pair of ACCAC games. SMCC posted a 7-3 road victory behind eight strikeouts over five innings from Jaxon Jelkin and a key two-out, three-run home run by Carter Richey. In the 11-4 home win, four Cougars hit home runs (Dominic Chacon, Core Jackson, Kyle Alexander and Richey) as SMCC improved to 9-5 in conference play. 

Mar. 10 Recap

SMCC recorded 13 hits, and Richey's three-run home run broke open a 4-3 game in the top of the eighth. The Cougars scored two in the third, two in the sixth and three in the eighth. 

Jelkin went five innings with four strikeouts, three hits and one earned run. He is now 5-1 on the season with a 3.55 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 38 innings. 

Josaiah Estrella tossed an inning of relief, Matthew Martinez went 1.2 innings, and Alex Urias-Calvillo recorded the final four outs for the win. 

Sam Christiansen led SMCC with three hits, stole a base and scored a run, and Richey went 2-for-5 with two runs and the three RBIs. 

Connor Schneider and Chacon each had two hits. Chacon had a double, stole a base and drove in a pair, while Schneider drove in a run. Jaden Miranda had the team's third double and scored a run, Alexander stole a base, and Jackson scored once.

Mar. 11 Recap

The Cougar offense continued to roll in the second game against the Pumas, collecting 15 hits with eight going for extra bases over eight innings. After PVCC scored a pair in the top of the second, SMCC tied the game in its half of the frame. The Cougars added four runs in the fourth, three in the sixth and two in the seventh en route to the 11-5 victory. 

Christiansen had another three hits to lead the Cougars and finished with two runs, an RBI, a double and a school-record six stolen bases. Richey finished 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and two walks. 

Kenneth Jimenez, Karsen Waslefsky, Jackson, Chacon and Alexander all had two hits in the win. Chacon hit his second home run of the year and finished with two runs, an RBi and two walks.

Jackson hit his first of the year and went 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Alexander blasted his second home run of the year and finished 2-for-4 with two runs, a double and three RBIs. 

Jimenez roped a double and had an RBi, Waslefsky had a pair of RBIs, and Schneider posted a triple and a run. 

Austin Balmes (2-0) earned the win with three innings of relief work, fanning two and allowing one hit. Jackson Thomas started the game for SMCC and went two innings with three hits, two earned runs and a strikeout. Brandon Koble pitched two innings with three hits and two earned runs, Urias-Calvillo tossed the eighth, and Aeneas Clark fanned a pair in the ninth.