SMCC Baseball Features Eight in 2024 NCAA Division I Tournament
PHOENIX ---
Eight former members of the South Mountain Community College baseball team will compete in the 2024 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. These student-athletes represent a host of institutions throughout the country as they battle for a spot in the Men's College World Series in Omaha, Neb. All games from all regionals are available on the ESPN family of networks.
Tucson Regional
Hi-Corbett Field is the home of the Tucson Regional, hosted by the University of Arizona. In addition to the Wildcats, the regional features the Dallas Baptist Patriots, the West Virginia Mountaineers, and the Grand Canyon Antelopes.
The host Wildcats boast two former Cougars, Raul Garayzar and Matthew Martinez. A 5-11 right-handed pitcher, Martinez has appeared in 15 games out of the bullpen and has a 7.04 ERA in 15.1 innings of work. He has struck out 17 batters and walked six. Garayzar is 0-2 in eight appearances and three starts in 2024. He has 12 strikeouts and six walks.
Former Cougars Shawn Triplett and Michael Diaz are members of the GCU Antelopes. Triplett has appeared in 17 games out of the bullpen for the Antelopes and has a 4.18 ERA and a pair of saves in 28 innings. He has fanned 27 batters and walked nine while holding opponents to a .235 batting average.
Diaz is batting .375 in 38 games and 21 starts in the 2024 season. He has 22 runs, 30 hits, three doubles, one triple, five home runs, 21 RBIs, 13 walks, and a stolen base on the season.
Norman Regional
The Norman Regional features the host, the University of Oklahoma Sooners, the Duke Blue Devils, the Connecticut Huskies, and the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.
Redshirt senior Holden Breeze has helped lead the ORU Golden Eagles to their third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. He has batted .351 in 56 games this season and adds 42 runs, 79 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 48 RBIs, 30 walks, and two stolen bases.
Fayetteville Regional
The Fayetteville Regional features the host University of Arkansas, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, the Kansas State Wildcats, and the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.
Senior Esteban Hernandez is a right-handed pitcher for the Redhawks. He has appeared in 13 games out of the bullpen for SEMO and has 13 strikeouts.
Chapel Hill Regional
The Chapel Hill Regional features the host University of North Carolina Tarheels, the LSU Tigers, the Wofford Terriers, and the Long Island University Sharks.
Brice Martinez is a fifth-year infielder/outfielder for the Terriers who has batted .376 in 59 games during the 2024 season. He has totaled 62 runs, 91 hits, 19 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 56 RBIs, 24 walks, and 15 stolen bases.
Knoxville Regional
The Knoxville Regional features the University of Tennessee Volunteers, the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, the Indiana Hoosiers, and the Northern Kentucky Norse.
Matthew Bohnert is a 5-7 left-handed pitcher for the Hoosiers. However, due to injury, he has not appeared in any games in 2024 but expects to return for the 2025 season.