On May 8th, the South Mountain Community College baseball team finished an exciting 2004 campaign.  Despite being eliminated by the Cochise Apaches in the ACCAC Division 1 playoffs, the Cougars completed the 2004 season with a 26 win improvement from the 2003 season.  With a final record of 37 wins and 21 losses, a Copper Division Championship, and the large core of freshmen athletes returning, the Cougars expect to be strong contenders in 2005.

The baseball team will lose several key players from the 2004 squad.  The 2004 ACCAC Player of the Year, pitcher Luis Cota, signed with the Kansas City Royals for a $1.05 million bonus.  Freshman infielder Gabe Suarez has signed with the Montreal Expos after being drafted in the 26th round of the June draft.  Freshman pitcher Isaac Hess has signed a scholarship to play for Washington State University.  Sophomore first baseman Jacob Palomarez and sophomore pitcher Mike Cervantes have signed scholarships to Wayland Baptist University in Dallas.  Sophomore infielder Andy Munoz and pitcher Jake Sparks will attend Arizona State University.

The very young Cougars team got off to a slow start at 15-13 (3-9 in Conference play), but finished with a 22-8 record over the last 30 games in 2004.  They finished with a 23-15 record in ACCAC competition and a 14-6 record in non-conference play.  The Cougars non-conference schedule proved to be extremely challenging, as a result of playing three of the eight teams that were in the 2004 Junior College World Series (with a record of 3-1 against those three teams).  The young Cougars were also able to gain valuable experience playing the 2004 NCAA World Series participant, the University of Arizona Wildcats.