Posted: Feb 23, 2026
No. 6 SMCC Baseball Posts Pair of Conference Victories over GateWay CC
#6 South Mountain Community College
12
GateWay Community College - AZ
9
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#6 South Mountain Community College | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 4 |
|
GateWay Community College - AZ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 5 |
GateWay Community College - AZ
0
#6 South Mountain Community College
6
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
GateWay Community College - AZ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
|
#6 South Mountain Community College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | X | 6 | 8 | 1 |
PHOENIX ---
The No. 6 South Mountain Community College baseball team (12-8, 5-3 ACCAC Division II) defeated GateWay CC 12-9 on Friday, Feb. 20 and 6-0 Saturday, Feb. 21, in a pair of ACCAC Division II contests. In a back-and-forth affair, SMCC scored four runs over the final two innings to rally for the 12-9 road victory on Feb. 20. The next day, sophomore Lukas Geisler tossed seven shutout innings and sophomore Diego Rodriguez added two more in relief as the Cougars blanked the Geckos.
Feb. 20 Recap
The Cougars and Geckos engaged in a back-and-forth affair that saw SMCC lead 7-4 after five innings, but GWCC rallied to take a 9-8 lead after seven. However, SMCC pushed four runs across the eighth and ninth innings to secure the 12-9 comeback victory.
In the eighth, sophomore Ernie Alvarez doubled with one and moved to third on a groundout. Freshman Brandon Ornelas drew a two-out walk and, after Ornelas stole second, he and Alvarez scored on a Gecko error.
The Cougars added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth when sophomore Matthew McGovern scored on an RBI single from Gabe Coltman, and freshman Nathan Bayus scored on a Gecko error.
After GWCC scored a run in the bottom of the first, SMCC took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third. Ornelas roped an RBI single that scored sophomore Bobby Pierce Jr., and Alvarez stole home on a successful double-steal with Ornelas.
Coltman posted an RBI single that scored sophomore Luke Hewes in the fourth, and Pierce Jr. and Alvarez added RBIs in the frame to put SMCC ahead 5-1.
The Geckos closed to within 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth, but SMCC immediately answered with two runs in the top of the fifth. Hewes drew a two-out walk and scored on an RBI triple from Coltman. Montijo drove him with an RBI single, and the Cougars made it 8-4 in the sixth on an Ornelas RBI single that plated Alvarez.
Coltman was 3 for 4 with three RBIs, two runs, one triple, and one walk, while Pierce Jr. was 3 of 6 with one run, one RBI, and a triple. Alvarez scored three runs and was 2 for 4 with an RBI, a stolen base, and a double, while Montijo was 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI.
Ornelas was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, three stolen bases, and a run, and Hewes scored twice.
Sophomore Sergio Garcia (2-1) earned the win with 1.1 innings of relief work. He allowed one hit, one walk, and one unearned run to go with a strikeout. Freshman Izaiah Moraga recorded his first save of the year with 1.2 innings of hitless relief with one punchout.
Freshman Cody Stoller started the game for SMCC and went 5.1 innings with nine hits, four earned runs, and five strikeouts. Freshman Kasen Landry also saw time in relief.
Feb. 21 Recap
Geisler and Rodriguez combined to limit the Gecko offense to six hits over nine innings to help lift SMCC to the 6-0 victory.
Geisler (2-1) earned his second win of the year with seven innings of work. He worked around runners on second and third with one out in the second and fourth innings, and stranded two more runners in the fifth. He allowed four hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts.
Rodriguez scattered two hits and had one K in two innings.
SMCC broke the scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the fourth. Pierce Jr. walked, and Alvarez reached on an error to start the frame and, after a sac bunt from sophomore Bryan Lorenz, Ornelas and sophomore Jack Meissner recorded RBI singles to put SMCC ahead 2-0. Ornelas later scored on a passed ball to put the Cougars ahead by three.
In the seventh, sophomore Nuri Todd and Pierce Jr. posted RBI singles that scored McGovern and Todd, respectively, to put SMCC ahead 5-0. Meissner added his second RBI of the contest with a sac fly in the eighth that scored Ornelas.
Lorenz had a pair of hits, including a triple, and four Cougars recorded a stolen base: Pierce Jr., Ornelas, Todd, and McGovern.