Posted: Feb 09, 2026
Cougar Baseball Splits ACCAC Series with Phoenix College
#6 South Mountain Community College
8
Phoenix College
6
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#6 South Mountain Community College | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
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Phoenix College | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
Phoenix College
4
#6 South Mountain Community College
1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Phoenix College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
|
#6 South Mountain Community College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
PHOENIX ---
The South Mountain Community College baseball team (7-4, 1-1 ACCAC Division II) split an ACCAC Division II series with Phoenix College, defeating the Bears 8-6 on Feb. 6 before falling 4-1 on Feb. 7. Freshman Liu Rodriguez Jr. led SMCC with three hits, three runs, a double, and two stolen bases, while Cody Stoller tossed six innings and Blake Bell picked up a save in the Feb. 6 road victory. The next day, Rodriguez Jr. and sophomore Jack Meissner had two hits, but the Cougars could not overcome four errors in the field en route to the 4-1 home loss.
Feb. 6 Recap
The Cougars came back from an early 4-2 deficit to hold on for an 8-6 victory.
Trailing 8-4 to start the bottom of the ninth, the Bears put runners the first two runners on base safely against sophomore Diego Rodriguez. A pinch-hit RBI single made it 8-5, and sophomore Blake Bell entered the game and promptly induced a sac fly to make it 8-6 with one out.
A single put runners on first and second, and a wild pitch moved them into scoring position with one out. That set up sophomore Brandon Ornelas, who caught a line drive at third and beat the runner back to the base for an unassisted double play to seal the win.
SMCC scored twice in the top of the first as Rodriguez Jr. started the game with a single and moved to second when Ornelas drew a walk. The two executed a double steal, and Rodriguez scored on a throwing error. Jaden Leon later drove in Ornelas with an RBI groundout.
The lead was short-lived, however, as PC scored four runs in the second off Stoller. He persevered to toss four scoreless frames afterwards, and SMCC scratched across runs in the fourth and sixth to tie the game. Sophomore Nuri Todd had a sac fly in the third to score Meissner, and sophomore Gavin Short had a sac fly in the sixth to plate Leon.
In the seventh, Todd walked, sophomore Ernie Alvarez singled, and Rodriguez Jr. singled to load the bases. Ornleas delivered a two-run single to center to score Todd and Alvarez, and Leon drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 7-4.
Rodriguez Jr. made it 8-4 in the eighth after he doubled, stole third, and scored on a throwing error. He finished 3 for 5 with three runs, a double, and two stolen bases. Ornelas was 1 for 3 with two runs, two walks, two RBIs, a run, and a stolen base. Alvarez went 2 for 4 with a run and a stolen base, while Leon had two RBIs, two walks, and a run.
Stoller (2-0) tossed six innings to earn his second win of the season. He worked around five hits, four earned runs, and two walks, and posted five strikeouts. Rodriguez tossed two innings of relief with two hits, two earned runs, a walk, and a strikeout. Bell recorded his second save of the year by getting the final three outs.
Feb. 7 Recap
The Cougars got an impressive start from sophomore Lukas Geisler, but the team could not generate enough offense, and four errors aided the Bears in the 4-1 loss. Geisler tossed six hitless innings with one unearned run, three walks, and five strikeouts.
PC got an unearned run in the fifth, but SMCC tied it in the sixth on a two-out RBI single from freshman Nathan Bayus that plated sophomore Bryan Lorenz.
However, the Bears scored twice in the seventh and once in the eighth to take the lead. SMCC went down in order in the seventh, and put two runners on in the eighth with two outs before the inning ended on a fly out.
In the ninth, SMCC again put two on with two outs before the Bears recorded the third out to end the game.
Rodriugez went 2 for 3 with two walks, and Meissner was 2 for 4 with a double. Bayus recorded his first RBI as a Cougar, plus a stolen base, and Shot had a sac bunt.
Freshman Gennaro Brito (0-1) took the loss on the mound, allowing two hits and one earned run. Freshman Kasen Landry and Sam Yeager also saw time in relief.