SMCC Baseball Falls Twice to Paradise Valley CC

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (9-9, 6-2 ACCAC) lost 15-9 on Feb. 21 and 10-6 on Feb. 22 to Paradise Valley Community College in a pair of ACCAC games. Freshman Bobby Pierce Jr. led SMCC with five hits, three runs, a double, and a stolen base, and sophomore Joe Terranova added three hits, two runs and three RBIs in the home loss on Feb. 21. The next day, freshman Nuri Todd went 2 for 3 with two runs and freshman Drew Johnson added a pair of RBIs in the road defeat. 

Feb. 21 Recap

Pierce Jr. finished a blistering 5 for 6 at the plate, but the Pumas scored nine runs over the final three innings to post the comeback victory. He finished 5 for 6 with three runs, an RBi, and a stolen base. 

Terranova and Johnson had three hits apiece in the loss. Terranova was 3 for 5, while Johnson was 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI. 

After PVCC scored a pair of runs in the first, SMCC quickly got one back with a two-out RBI single from freshman Bryan Lorenz that scored Pierce Jr. In the second, Terranova hit a two-out, RBI single and sophomore Raul Parada laced a two-run, two-out double, his team-leading 10th of the season, to give SMCC a 4-2 lead. 

PVCC struck for three runs in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead and made it 6-4 in the fifth. 

Pierce Jr. hit a two-out RBI single in the sixth to score Marcus Romero and bring SMCC within 6-5, but that was as close as it would get. The Pumas got three runs in the seventh, eighth, and ninth to seal the win. 

Lorenz and sophomore Brayden Grantham had a pair of hits, and Grantham scored twice. Sophomore Luke Jones had the team's third double. 

Freshman Grant Young (1-1) took the loss after starting the game, going 4.1 innings with five hits, five earned runs, two walks, and a strikeout. Freshman Braeden McCarroll, sophomore Jack Cecil, freshman Adin Oeltjen, and sophomore Santiago DiBene saw time in relief. 

Feb. 22 Recap

SMCC led 5-3 after the top of the fourth, but PVCC scored four in its half of the frame and three more in the sixth to seal the win. 

Terranova and Parada had RBI singles, and Johnson added a two-run, two-out double in the third to give SMCC a 4-1 advantage. After PVCC scored two in their half of the third, SMCC got a run in the fourth when Pierce Jr. hit a two-out RBI double to score Todd. 

However, the Pumas scored seven more times over the next three frames to take a 10-5 lead. In the eighth, freshman Jaden Leon hit a sacrifice fly to score Lorenz. 

Todd was 2 for 3 with two runs, five other Cougars had a base hit, and Terranova and Parada had stolen bases. 

Sophomore Fabian Ibarra (0-1) took the loss after starting the game and going 3.2 innings with four hits, six earned runs, three walks, and four strikeouts. Freshmen Quinn Robertson, SamYeager, and sophomore Matt Elliott saw time in relief.