Cougar Baseball Sweeps PVCC in Dramatic Fashion

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (28-12, 20-4 ACCAC) defeated Paradise Valley CC 16-13 in a road game on Mar. 25 and 3-2 in a home contest on Mar. 26 in a pair of thrilling contests. In the first game, SMCC pushed across four runs, including the game-winning two-run single from sophomore Luke Jones, in the ninth inning to post a thrilling comeback win in a wild back-and-forth affair. The Cougars held off a PVCC rally in the second game as sophomore Matt Elliot picked up his second save in as many days. 

Mar. 25 Recap

SMCC led 11-2 early, but the Pumas scored 10 in the fifth to take a 12-11 lead. Both teams scored a run in the eighth to maintain the one-run contest and set the stage for the ninth's dramatics. 

With one out in the ninth, freshman Bryan Lorenz reached on an error and moved to third on a pinch-hit double from freshman Gavin Short. Sophomore Brayden Grantham came in to run for Short, and he and Lorenz scored when Jones singled on a 2-0 pitch to give SMCC a 14-13 lead. 

Jones stole second with two out, and after sophomore Marcus Romero drew a walk, the two executed a double-steal to move into scoring position. Sophomore Christopher Mata added a pair of insurance runs with a two-run single to bring them both in. 

Elliot tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn the save and secure the victory. Freshman Sam Yeager earned the win with 2.2 innings of relief with two hits and one earned run. Freshman Lukas Geisler started the game for SMCC and went 4.1 innings with nine hits, five earned runs, two walks, and a strikeout. Sophomore Santiago DiBene and freshman Braeden McCarroll also saw time in relief. 

The Cougars scored six runs in the first, one in the fourth, and four in the fifth to build the early lead. 

Jones finished 1 for 1 with two runs, four RBIs, three walks, two sacrifice flies, and two stolen bases. Mata also drove in four and went 2 for 5. 

Sophomore Landon Springmeyer was 3 for 4 with a run, an RBI, a walk, a stolen base, and a double. Sophomore Raul Parada went 2 for 6 with two runs and two RBIs, while sophomore Maxton Peck had two hits, an RBI, and a run. 

Freshman Bobby Pierce Jr. was 1 for 3 with two runs, two walks, an RBI, and a stolen base, and sophomore Joe Terranova added two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBIs. 

Mar. 26 Recap

The teams engaged in a pitcher's duel early with runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh, lifting SMCC to the 3-2 victory. 

Sophomore Luis Martin Romero and PVCC's Noah Darnell exchanged blank frames through four innings before SMCC broke through in the fifth. Mata singled with one out and came around to score on an RBI double from Pierce Jr. 

The Cougars doubled their lead in the sixth when Peck produced an RBI fielder's choice that scored freshman Drew Johnson. In the seventh, Parada hit an RBI double to score Terranova. 

The Pumas scratched one across in the eighth, and the ninth featured several dramatic turns. A one-out single, an infield error, and an RBI single brought PVCC to within 3-2.

A walk loaded the bases, but SMCC got a pivotal second out when the Pumas bunted into a fielder's choice, with the tying run thrown out at the plate. Elliot induced a ground out to shortstop to end the game. 

Martin Romero improved to 5-0 on the season with seven innings of scoreless work. He worked around four hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts. Mata tossed the eighth, and Elliot earned the save by closing out the ninth. 

Parada and Pierce each had two hits, a double, and an RBI.