Mar 3, 2010
Baseball Update
Cougars Ride Pitching to Sweep of Mesa
Solid defense and starting pitching help the Cougars to a sweep of Mesa Community College. In game one, at Mesa CC, Sophomore Ryan Christenson held the ACCAC’s top offense to just four hits, while striking out ten batters in seven innings of work on Tuesday. The offense was led by freshman Will Fadness with two hits, including a home run, and two runs batted in. Freshmen Trey Ford and Michael Englund each drove in a run, while sophomore Marcus Vigil added an RBI sacrifice fly in the 7-3 win.
In the second game of the series, sophomore Casey Collins threw a complete game, allowing just three hits and one unearned run. The Cougar offense was able to push across a run in the seventh inning on a leadoff double from sophomore Danny Coulombe and an RBI single from sophomore Landon Joost to tie the game at 1-1. In the bottom of the eighth, freshman Justin Rosales was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and came around to score the winning run on a balk call.
The Cougars (13-5, 6-2 ACCAC) will take the field again on Saturday March 6th against Eastern Arizona College (8-9, 1-5 ACCAC) for a double-header at noon.
Feb 27, 2010
Baseball Update
Baseball Sweeps Aztecs on the Road
Feb. 27, 2010- The Cougar Baseball team took advantage of solid pitching in both games of a double-header, at Pima Community College, en route to 3-0 and 5-3 wins. In game one, Sophomore Kyle Ottoson threw a complete game shutout, allowing only 2 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 7 batters. Freshmen Derek Mendoza (2 for 3, RBI), Michael Englund (3 for 3, 2 doubles) and Justin Rosales (1 for 3, SB) came up with some timely hitting, accounting for all 3 runs.
In game two against the Pima Aztecs, sophomore Joseph Lopez pitched five strong innings to get the win and push his record to 4-0. Sophomore Sam Cerbo pitched the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings, allowing just one run, before giving way to sophomore Woody Nisbet, who notched his 4th save of the season with a scoreless 9th inning. Offensively, freshman Ryan Klem broke a 2-2 tie in the 6th inning with a two-run single that put the Cougars ahead for good. Freshman Will Fadness was 2 for 3 at the plate and sophomore Steve Castillo was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
The Cougars (11-5, 4-2 ACCAC) next ACCAC series will be Tuesday and Wednesday against Mesa Community College (11-5, 3-3 ACCAC). Tuesday will be at MCC and Wednesday at SMCC, both games will start at 3pm.
Feb 23, 2010
Baseball Update
South Mountain loses on ‘Walk-off’ to AZ Western for Split of DH
Feb. 23, 2010- The Cougars drop the second game of a double-header, after recording the first two outs in the final inning against Arizona Western College. South Mountain pitcher Woody Nisbet struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh, before allowing two walks and a single for a 3-2 victory to the Matadors. Sophomore Landon Joost led the offense for the Cougars with two hits and a hit-by-pitch.
In game one of the double-header, the SMCC and AWC pitching staffs combined to shut out opposing hitters for nine innings. South Mountain pitchers Ryan Christenson, Kyle Ottoson, and Ryan Klem combined to strike out 13 batters in 10 innings of two-hit shutout baseball. In the Cougar half of the 10th, sophomore Woody Nisbet led off with a single, then advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Marcus Vigil. Freshman Justin Rosales lined a single over third base to drive in the game’s only run and securing a 1-0 win for the Cougars.
South Mountain travels to Pima Community College in Tucson for an ACCAC double-header on Saturday Feb. 27th at noon.
Feb 22, 2010
Baseball Update
#23 Cougs Gain Split of Series With #6 Central Arizona
Feb. 20, 2010- The Cougars win the second game of a 2-game series against Central Arizona College by the score of 6-4. South Mountain dropped the first game of the series on Friday, 3-1, despite a solid pitching performance from sophomore Kyle Ottoson. After one weekend of conference play, SMCC holds a record of 1-1 in the ACCAC, and 8-4 overall.
On Friday, the Cougars wasted a solid outing on the mound from Ottoson, going 7 innings, allowing 1 earned run, and striking out 12 batters. Freshman Trey Ford led the offense with 2 hits in 4 at-bats. There were several scoring opportunities throughout the game, but CAC pitchers worked their way out of jams.
In Game 2, the offense came through with 11 hits, along with some timely execution. Freshman Jovany Valenzuela, had a double and a home run, while sophomore Shawn Deisler had 3 hits and 2 RBI. Sophomore Woody Nisbet earned the win on the mound by pitching 4 shutout innings in relief, giving up only 2 hits. Freshman Kenny Sigman recorded the final 3 outs for his first save of the year.
Nov. 16, 2009 - Three Cougar Baseball Players Sign Commitments in Early Period
Three sophomore left-handed pitchers sign National Letters of Intent during the NCAA’s early signing period for the 2010-2011 season. Kyle Ottoson, Ryan Christenson, and Daniel Coulombe have signed scholarships to play in some of the best baseball conferences in the country. All three have been selected in past Major League Baseball amateur drafts and should have a major impact on the successes of the 2010 SMCC baseball team.
Kyle Ottoson signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Arizona State University. Last year, Ottoson led the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference in wins (10) and was named 1st Team All Region and 1st Team All-ACCAC. He was also drafted in the 2009 MLB amateur draft by the New York Yankees.
Ryan Christenson signed a National Letter of Intent to pitch for the Cowboys of Oklahoma State University next season. Christenson pitched as both a starter and reliever for the Cougars a year ago and has made huge strides in development over the summer. He was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2009 MLB amateur draft.
Daniel Coulombe, a left-handed pitcher and outfielder, signed a National Letter of Intent to compete at Texas Tech University in 2010-2011. Coulombe pitched as a freshman at USC prior to transferring to SMCC for his sophomore season. He was selected in the 2008 MLB amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
2009 South Mountain Community College MLB Draft Selections:
- Randy Henry - (Baltimore Orioles)
- Chase Johnson - (Philadelphia Phillies)
- Kyle Ottoson - (New York Yankees)
- Ryan Christenson - (Los Angeles Dodgers)
- Nicholas Rosthenhausler -(Detroit Tigers)
Three former Cougars were also selected:
- Cameron Bayne - (Chicago White Sox, via Concordia University)
- Jordan Whatcott - (Los Angeles Angels, via University of Utah)
- Adam Bailey - (New York Yankees, via University of Nebraska)
June 12, 2009-Five Cougars Selected in 2009 Major League Baseball Draft
Phoenix, Arizona - South Mountain Community College had five players chosen by Major League Baseball organizations over the three day draft. SMCC boasts the highest player selected from the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, Randy Henry, as well as the most players drafted in the conference. Only one other junior college in the country, Miami-Dade College in Florida, had more selections than SMCC. For the fourth consecutive year, SMCC has had the most players drafted in the ACCAC. Three former Cougars were also selected in the 2009 draft, Cameron Bayne (Concordia University), Jordan Whatcott (University of Utah), and Adam Bailey (University of Nebraska). Of the total eight players, only two (Ottoson and Christenson) had been drafted prior to attending SMCC.
The Cougars' baseball team hasn't given up on obtaining the No.2 playoff spot for the upcoming NJCAA Region I Division II tournament, but they are shooting for a team accomplishment no other SMCC team has managed.
"No team in our history has won 40 games in a season," SMCC coach Todd Eastin said.
After Wednesday's wild 5-4, 10-inning victory over No.4 Central Arizona, the Cougars have a 36-14 record with six games remaining. Even the 2005 World Series team managed a total of 39 wins.
The Cougars' 36th win of the season Wednesday was a memorable one. Despite hitting six batters and having four runners picked off base, the Cougars managed to remain three games within Central in the ACCAC standings.
The top two teams will host playoff games and Yavapai is a shoe-in to capture the regular-season title. All eyes will be on Saturday's battle in Prescott featuring No.4 Central against No.3 Yavapai in a double-header, that, should Yavapai sweep and the Cougars sweep against cellar-dwelling Eastern Arizona at home Saturday, would pull the Cougars to within one game of hosting the tournament's first round.
"(Wednesday's win) was a confidence booster for our club," Eastin said.
"Those wins just don't happen. We just kept getting on base and our defense was better than their's over the final innings." More 