SMCC Baseball Posts Pair of Wins over Mesa CC

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College baseball team (13-9, 10-2 ACCAC) defeated Mesa CC 10-1 (seven innings) on Feb. 28 and 9-5 on Mar. 1 in a pair of ACCAC Division II contests. Freshman Bryan Lorenz hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and freshman Grant Young tossed 4.1 innings of relief to pick up the win in the road victory on Feb. 28. The next day, sophomore Raul Parada homered, and the Cougars recorded eight stolen bases to back-up 6.2 innings of relief work from freshman Thomas Peck in the 9-5 home win. 

Feb. 28 Recap

The Cougars scored multiple runs in four frames, including two in the first, to post the 10-1, seven-inning victory. 

In the first, freshman Bobby Pierce Jr. led off the game with a double, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly from sophomore Joe Terranova. Parada doubled with one out and scored on an attempted double-steal, crossing the plate just before the third and final out was recorded. 

SMCC made it 4-0 in the fourth when sophomore Brady Lord scored on a passed ball, and Terranova laced a two-out RBI double that scored Pierce Jr. 

After MCC cut into the lead with a run in its half of the fourth, SMCC responded with two more in the fifth. Lorenz led off the inning with a home run to left, and freshman Drew Johnson made it back-to-back deep flies with a solo blast to right. 

The Cougars added four more in the sixth to enact the run-rule victory. Pierce Jr. doubled, and Terranova and Parada walked to load the bases with no outs. Lorenz brought them all home with a grand slam to left to give SMCC a 10-1 advantage. 

Lorenz finished 2 for 3 with two runs, two home runs, five RBIs, and a walk. Pierce Jr. was 3 for 4 with three runs, two doubles, and a walk, while Parada went 2 for 4 with two runs, a double, and a stolen base. 

Sophomore Luke Jones had a pair of hits, Lord added a double, and Terranova posted two RBIs, a run, and a double. 

Young (2-1) earned the win on the mound with 4.1 innings of two-hit relief. He struck out five and worked around five walks to allow one unearned run. Freshman Michael Caruso started the game for SMCC and went two innings with one strikeout, and freshman Quinn Robertson recorded the final two outs. 

Mar. 1 Recap

The Cougars led early but had to overcome a brief 4-3 deficit to post the 9-5 victory. SMCC came back with one run in the third, two in the fourth, one in the sixth, and two in the eighth. 

A pitch hit Terranova with one out in the first. A balk moved him to second, and when he stole third, the throw went into left field and allowed him to score on the play. Later in the frame, Johnson delivered a two-out RBI double to score Parada. 

However, the Thunderbirds responded with two runs in the second and added two more in the third after SMCC got one back in the second on a Terranova sacrifice fly. 

In the third, the Cougars tied the game at 4-4 on a sacrifice fly from freshman Derek Montijo that brought in Lorenz. SMCC scored twice in the fourth to break the deadlock when Lorenz hit a two-out, two-run double that scored sophomore Brayden Grantham and Terranova. 

The Cougars added an insurance run in the sixth on Parada's solo home run. In the eighth, SMCC pushed two more across when Maxton Peck doubled and scored on an RBI single from Grantham, and Parada hit a sac fly to score Pierce Jr. 

Parada went 2 for 4 with two runs, two RBIs, a stolen base, and the solo home run, while Lorenz was 2 for 4 with a run, two RBIs, a double, and a walk. Terranova stole three bases and recorded two runs, one RBI, and one walk, while sophomore Landon Springmeyer had a pair of steals, two walks, and a run scored. 

Grantham and Pierce Jr. had the final two Cougar stolen bases, and Maxton Peck had the team's third double. 

Peck (1-2) earned his first victory of the season with 6.2 innings of relief work on the hill. He fanned six and scattered three hits, one walk and two earned runs. Sophomore Fabian Ibarra started the game for SMCC and went 2.1 innings with two hits, three runs, and three strikeouts.