SMCC Baseball Sweeps ACCAC Series with Chandler-Gilbert CC

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (30-12, 22-4 ACCAC) won both ends of an ACCAC series with Chandler-Gilbert CC, claiming a 10-2, eight-inning home victory on Mar. 28, followed by a 9-4 road victory on Mar. 29. The Cougars slapped five doubles and stole three bases in the Mar. 28 victory to back up a combined two-hitter from sophomore Michael Caruso and freshman Grant Young. The following day, freshman Bryan Lorenz had three hits, including a home run, and sophomore Luke Jones had three hits, highlighted by two doubles. 

Mar. 28 Recap

The Cougars led 2-0 through five innings. After CGCC scored twice to tie the game in the top of the sixth, SMCC responded with three runs in their half of the frame to take a 5-2 lead. The Cougars then posted the run-rule victory with a five-run eighth inning that featured a walk-off, two-run double from Jones. 

Lorenz had an RBI single in the first that brought in freshman Bobby Pierce Jr., and an error on the play allowed sophomore Raul Parada. 

Tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Jones broke the deadlock with a two-run single that scored Lorenz and freshman Drew Johnson. Sophomore Christopher Mata added an RBI double to score Jones and put SMCC ahead three. 

In the eighth, sophomore Brady Lord plated freshman Nuri Todd with a one-out RBI double. With two outs, Parda hit a two-run single that scored Pierce Jr. and sophomore Joe Terranova. A pitch hit Lorenz, Johnson drew a walk to load the bases, and Jones ended the game with a two-run double. 

Jones finished 3 for 4 with four RBIs, a run, and a double. Parada was 2 for 3 with two runs, two RBIs, and a double, and Mata, Lord, and sophomore Marcus Romero all added doubles in the win. Pierce Jr. scored twice and had a stolen base, and Lorenz and Johnson also had stolen bases. 

Young improved to 5-1 on the season with 3.2 innings of hitless relief work, walking two and fanning five. Caruso started the game and went 5.1 innings of two-hit baseball with six strikeouts, two walks, and two unearned runs. 

Mar. 29 Recap

The Cougars led 4-2 through five innings and added a run in the sixth and four in the seventh en route to the 9-4 victory. 

Sophomore Landon Springmeyer brought in Johnson with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. In the second, Pierce Jr. scored on an error with two outs, and Jones added a two-run double later in the frame. 

In the sixth, freshman Gavin Short had an RBI groundout, and Lorenz hit a two-run home run to start the seventh. Romero added a two-run double later in the frame to conclude the Cougars' scoring. 

Lorenz finished 3 for 5 with two runs, two RBIs, and a home run, while Jones was 3 for 5 with two runs, two RBIs, and two doubles. Parada had a pair of hits, a run, and a stolen base, and Johnson scored and walked three times. 

Sophomore Fabian Ibarra earned his first win of the season with five innings of work. He fanned three and worked around two hits, one earned run, and one walk. Freshman Thomas Peck earned his first save of the year with four innings of relief that featured four hits, two earned runs, and five strikeouts.