SMCC Softball Sweeps CGCC, DCTC, AWC to Extend Winning Streak

PHOENIX ---

Over the past week, the South Mountain Community College softball team (20-3, 17-1 ACCAC) swept a trio of doubleheaders to extend its winning streak to 18 straight games. The Cougars defeated Chandler-Gilbert CC 8-0 (5) and 4-1 on Mar. 4, took down Dakota County Technical College 24-3 and 2-0 on Mar. 6, and swept a road doubleheader at Arizona Western 12-2 (5) and 7-1 on Mar. 7. 

Chandler-Gilbert CC Recap

The Cougars swept the ACCAC twinbill from the Coyotes at the SMCC Softball Diamond on Saturday, Mar. 4. 

SMCC scored a run in every frame in the victory in game one, including multiple runs in the first and the fourth, en route to the 8-0 five-inning victory. 

Freshman Halle Hogan and sophomore Anisa Reynolds led the Cougars with three hits. Hogan went 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs and a double, while Reynolds scored a run and drove in two. 

Freshman Vanessa Philpot hit a solo home run for the Cougars in the win. Fellow rookie Brianna Garcia went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, and freshman Mia Franco added a double, a run and an RBI. 

In the circle, freshman Mykenzie Flores tossed a two-hit shutout, fanning four in five innings. 

The second game, a 4-1 SMCC victory, featured a dramatic 3-run home run from Franco that broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth. 

CGCC had pushed a run across in the top of the frame to break the scoreless tie. SMCC tied the game on an RBI single from sophomore Jessica Gordon that drove in Miranda Martinez. Gordon and sophomore Rebecca Miller scored on Franco's three-run bomb. 

Freshman Iliana Munoz went a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, and Hogan had a pair of singles. 

Reynolds picked up the win in the circle for SMCC, tossing a complete game with five strikeouts and one unearned run. 

Dakota County Technical College Recap

The Cougars took a break from conference play to host the Blue Knights from Rosemount, Minn., and posted 24-3 (5 innings) and 2-0 victories on Monday, Mar. 6. SMCC pounded out 21 hits over four innings in the game one victory.

Freshman Sarah Potter finished a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, a double and four RBIs, and freshmen Adenira Marquez and Munoz each had three hits. Marquez scored four runs and drove in one, while Munoz scored three times and added a double and two RBIs. 

Sophomore Makaiya Gomez went 2-for-4 with five runs, three RBIs, a stolen base, a triple and a home run, and freshman Vanessa Philpot added a double, two runs and two RBIs. 

Reynolds added a three-run home run and finished 2-for-4 with three runs, a stolen base and four RBIs. Garcia had a pair of hits, and Miller scored three runs. 

Marquez improved to 3-1 in the circle with a complete game performance. She fanned two and allowed two earned runs in five innings. 

Game two became a pitcher's duel between Flores and DCTC's Allie Sibbaid. SMCC pushed across a run in the first and fourth but could not solve Sibbaid in the other five frames.

Conversely, Flores extended her scoreless streak in the circle to 13 innings with a complete-game shutout. She fanned five and scattered five hits and two walks over seven innings. 

Garcia hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first, and freshman Mekaila Smith had an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to score Martinez. Hogan added a double and a stolen base in the win. 

Arizona Western Recap

The Cougars resumed their league campaign with convincing road victories over the Matadors in Yuma, Ariz. 

In a 12-2, five-inning win in game one, Garcia hit three home runs and finished 3-for-4 with three runs and six RBIs. She homered in her final three at-bats after flying out in the first, blasting a two-run shot in the third, plus a solo home run and a three-run shot in the fifth. 

Hogan and Reynolds also belted home runs in the victory, with Hogan hitting a two-run shot and Reynold collecting a solo blast. 

Gomez recorded two hits and two runs, and Potter and Munoz each had an RBI and scored a run. 

In the circle, freshman Angelica Tello improved to 7-0 with a complete game. She finished with three strikeouts and two earned runs over the seven frames. 

In the second game, a 7-1 SMCC win, the Cougars scored five runs over the first two innings to take a commanding 5-1 lead. They added two runs in the sixth to seal their 18th straight victory. 

Gomez hit a home run and a double to finish 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Reynolds had three singles with a run and an RBI, and Munoz scored a pair of runs with a stolen base and two singles. Hogan also had two singles, and Franco had two RBIs in the win. 

Reynolds improved to 5-2 on the season with a complete-game performance in the circle. She fanned six and allowed one unearned run in seven innings.