Under Matta’s Leadership, SMCC Softball Shows Signs of Greatness in 2020
The South Mountain Community College softball team flashed signs of excellence before the Corona Virus shut down the 2020 season. Under the guidance of first-year head coach Brittney Matta, the Cougars put together some impressive performances and set the stage for success in subsequent seasons.
"As a first-year head coach, I could not have asked for a better group of ladies," said Matta. "They completely bought into what my assistant coaches and I talked about from the first practice. When teams do that, they have a real chance. Even though the season abruptly ended, I know we had a real chance to excel in the final games of the season."
SMCC opened the season with a sensational start, sweeping Scottsdale Community College in a doubleheader on Feb. 4 to hand Matta her first two career victories. Freshman Julia Ruble hit for the cycle in the game two victory, and the Cougars totaled four doubles, two triples and four home runs over the two wins.
The Cougars suffered some tough road losses at Central Arizona and Arizona Western before rebounding with a doubleheader sweep of Gateway Community College on Feb. 15. The Cougars scored multiple runs in every inning and finished with 19 hits and 11 stolen bases in the game one victory.
Game two was a much tighter affair, but SMCC prevailed in the end to sweep the doubleheader. The Geckos jumped out to a 7-2 lead after scoring six runs in the top of the fourth. Undeterred, the Cougars responded with two runs in the fourth and added four in the bottom of the sixth to claim the one-run victory.
For their work against the Geckos and Matadors, sophomores Ali Ashner and Vanessa Gutierrez won Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Division II Player and Pitcher of the Week honors, respectively.
The next week, Julia Ruble picked up ACCAC Division II Player of the Week honors after she finished 3 for 6 with three runs, two doubles, two RBIs, two walks and a home run in a doubleheader at Yavapai College.
SMCC then recorded a win against Paradise Valley Community College, and then sweep doubleheaders with NAIA Benedictine University-Mesa and Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
Rookies Christian Smith and Ruble threw complete games for SMCC against Benedictine. Ruble won the first game, scattering eight hits and three earned runs to go with two strikeouts. Smith recorded her first win of the season by allowing one earned run to go with three K's.
The Cougars concluded their season by taking two games from the Coyotes. In game one, SMCC tied the game in the third and then took a 2-1 lead in the fifth. After the Coyotes tied the game in their half of the sixth, the Cougars responded with four runs to seal the victory.
The second game saw the Cougars strike for four runs in the fourth to break a scoreless tie. Chandler-Gilbert Community College scored runs in the fifth and the seventh, but SMCC held on to sweep the Coyotes.
In all, the Cougars batted .314 as a team in 23 games. They attacked the basepaths all year, totaling 67 stolen bases to lead all ACCAC squads. Their 10 triples also tied for the league lead and scored 118 runs.
Ashner ended her first season at SMCC with a strong case for ACCAC Player of the Year honors. She led the Cougars with a .589 batting average and had a team-high 43 hits, 25 runs, 13 doubles, five triples, 31 RBIs and 84 total bases. All those statistics ranked in the top 10 for all league players when the season ended.
Gutierrez enjoyed a solid two-way season, excelling at the plate and in the circle. As a pitcher, she finished 5-9 with a team-best 2.61 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 77.2 innings of work. At the plate, she batted .309 with a home run, eight RBIs, four doubles and six runs scored.
Ruble finished her first season as a Cougar with a .313 batting average, and her six home runs tied with Ashner for the team lead. She added 18 RBIs, eight doubles, 22 runs and three stolen bases for the year. Ruble also saw time in the circle for SMCC, finishing 2-1 with a 6.20 ERA in 20.1 innings.
Sophomore Jaymie Moore appeared in 22 games and sported a .333 batting average, 14 runs, three doubles, eight RBIs and seven stolen bases. Fellow sophomore Destiny Apodaca led the Cougars with 15 stolen bases and added four doubles, 10 runs and eight RBIs this season.
Freshman Adrianaly Morales was second on the team with 14 stolen bases, and she batted .314 with two doubles, eight runs and two RBIs. Sophomore Elisabeth Raby appeared in 21 games and had two triples, six runs and eight RBIs.
Rookies Alexa Key and Nekysha Nakai both saw action in 23 games. Key batted .263 with six runs and five stolen bases. Nakai finished with a .261 batting average, one triple, one home run and 10 RBIs.
Smith went 2-4 with a 4.67 ERA in 51 innings in the circle during her rookie season. At the plate, she had a home run, three runs scored and four RBIs.
A former student-athlete and national champion at Arizona State, Matta and her assistant coaches (Chelsea Gonzales, Brandon Telesco and Brent Rincon) have high expectations for the program's future.
"I am creating a culture at SMCC that allows for student-athletes to compete at a high level, create lifelong relationships and have fun. The unique circumstances of this season will limit the turnover and allow us to pick up where we left off when competition resumes. My playing and coaching career has exposed me to softball at the highest level with tremendous success. That success and greatness are what I know and what I will continue to expect out of my teams," Matta concluded.