SMCC Baseball Suffers Narrow Loss at Phoenix College

The South Mountain Community College baseball team lost 6-5 to Phoenix College Wednesday in a non-league game at Phoenix College. Holden Breeze had two hits from his lead-off position, and six other Cougars had base hits, but SMCC could not fend off a late PC rally.

After Phoenix College scored a run off SMCC starter Tyler Magin in the bottom of the second, the Cougars exploded for five runs in the top of the third.

Dustin Bermudez led off the inning with a single and then moved to second on a single from Breeze. JD Wadleigh then dropped down a bunt single to load the bases and a Ricky Munoz single scored Bermudez and Breeze.

Justin Quinn then dropped another bunt single to reload the bases with one out. The third run, Wadleigh, would score on a sac fly from Jake Haze. Mason Skaugrud laced a two-out single to right that scored Munoz, and Noah Bachman followed that with an RBI single of his own to plate Quinn.

Phoenix College would chip away at the 5-1 deficit slowly, tacking on two runs in the bottom of the third and single runs in the sixth and eighth to tie the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, Phoenix College got a one-out double, and the winning run would score two batters later on a single to center.

Magin tossed two innings of work and had one strikeout. Parker Wakelyn, Carter Krosky, Shawn Triplett, Damien Hernandez and Derek Decolati all saw time on the hill for SMCC.

The Cougars travel to the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, Sloan Park, as part of the Baum Bat Invitational in Mesa, Ariz. South Mountain Community College will face New Mexico Junior College (Feb. 7, 10 a.m.), Phoenix College (Feb. 7, 2 p.m.), Salt Lake Community College (Feb. 8, 10 a.m.) and a team and time still to be determined on Feb. 9.