SMCC Softball Splits Twinbill at PVCC

The South Mountain Community College softball team split an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference doubleheader with Paradise Valley Community College on Tuesday. The Cougars responded after a tight 3-2, eight-inning loss in game one with a 10-6 victory in the second game.

The first contest between the Cougars and Pumas was a back-and-forth affair that needed extra innings. PVCC took a 1-0 lead in the third, but the Cougars pushed across the tying run in the top of the seventh to send the game into extra frames.

SMCC scored a run in its half of the eighth, but PVCC would get the walk-off win with two in the bottom of the inning.

Jaymie Moore hit her first home run of the season and finished 2 for 3. Ali Ashner also had two hits, picking up a double and an RBI in the process. Elisabeth Raby and Alexa Key each had sac bunts for the Cougars in defeat.

Vanessa Gutierrez took the loss for the Cougars, allowing three unearned runs in 7.2 innings of work. She added four strikeouts as her record fell to 3-5 for the season.

In game two, the Cougars produced 14 hits, including four extra-base hits, to defeat the Pumas and record their first road win of the season.

Moore and Destiny Apodaca each had three hits for the Cougars. Apodaca had two RBIs, a run scored, a stolen base and a double. Moore scored two runs, stole a base and drove in a run.

Marissa Grijalva and Raby each had two RBIs in the game. Raby cracked her first home run of the season while Grijalva also scored a run and dropped down a sac bunt.

Julia Ruble and Gutierrez had doubles for SMCC, and Ashner added two hits and a run. Adrianaly Morales stole two bases two raise her season total to a team-best 11 and scored two runs. Key added a sac bunt and a stolen base.

The Cougars overcame 2-0 and 4-3 deficits to earn the road win. SMCC tied the game 4-4 in the top of the fifth and then exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh.

Gutierrez (4-5) earned the win for the Cougars, tossing the final 1.1 innings of work. She allowed two unearned runs and four hits. Christian Smith started for SMCC, fanning six to go with three earned runs in 5.2 innings of work.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday. Feb. 29 with a home doubleheader against Eastern Arizona College. Game one starts at noon.