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South Mountain Community College has become known as one of the Valley of the Sun’s most successful community college athletic programs since it began intercollegiate sports competition in 1981.

SMCC fields competitive teams each year in baseball, basketball, softball, volleyball, golf and soccer. With our very affordable ticket prices, the SMCC Cougars are one of the best sports buys in town. Our student athletes carry a long tradition of excelling both on the playing field and in the classroom, and deserve your support!

Get the latest news here about the players and teams that make South Mountain Community College one of the toughest teams to beat in Arizona’s community college ranks.

1/29/2012

Cougars drop 6-5 game to Western Nevada despite efforts of Kaczmareck

1/29/2012-Cougars drop 6-5 game to Western Nevada despite efforts of Kaczmareck

Taylor Kaczmareck did all he could to give the Cougars a boost, but it wasn't enough to get past Western Nevada, as the Cougars lost 6-5 at Sierra Vista on Sunday. Kaczmareck got on base three times in the game for the Cougars. Kaczmareck singled in the seventh inning. Mike Ebersole kept Western Nevada off balance while he was on the rubber. Ebersole held Western Nevada hitless over two innings, allowed no earned runs, walked one and struck out one. Dillon Ness racked up four RBIs on two hits for Western Nevada. Ness singled in the third inning and homered in the sixth inning. The Cougars had no answer for Dylan Baker, who cruised on the mound. The Cougars managed just one hit off of the Western Nevada's pitcher, who allowed no earned runs, walked one and struck out four during his four innings of work.

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Posted at 12:40 PM by Donna Barnes | Category: Men's Baseball | Permalink | Email this Post

1/28/2012

Cougars drop 1-0 game to Western Nevada despite efforts of Lee

Timmy Lee did all he could to give the Cougars a boost, but it wasn't enough to get past Western Nevada, as the Cougars lost 1-0 in seven innings at Sierra Vista on Saturday. It was a good day at the plate for the Cougars Lee he went 2-3. Lee singled in the first and third innings. Western Nevada had no answer for Matt Hobel, who cruised on the rubber. Western Nevada managed just one hit off of the Cougars pitcher, who allowed no earned runs, walked one and struck out four during his two innings of work. Tyler Spencer kept the Cougars off balance while he was on the mound. The Cougars managed just two hits off of Spencer, who allowed no earned runs, walked two and struck out five during his four innings of work. Preston Jamison was strong on the mound, as he threw strikes on 47 of his 82 pitches. Jamison collected five strike outs and walked three for the Cougars. The lone run of the game for Western Nevada crossed the plate in the fourth inning on an RBI triple by Rayne Raven

Posted at 12:48 PM by Donna Barnes | Category: Men's Baseball | Permalink | Email this Post

Cougars fall in 2-1 loss to Western Nevada despite strong efforts of Cougars pitching staff

Scott Hoffman and Jordyn Ah Chong combined to give up only 1 hit over 6 solid innings of work. Hoffman went 4 innings surrendering the only base hit of the game while striking out 5 and walking 1. Ah Chong cruised through 2 innings of work giving up no hits and striking out one. Both teams struggled offensively as there were only 4 total hits during the game. Taylor Kaczmareck did all he could to give the Cougars a boost coming up with 2 key hits. DW Warner provided the sole RBI of the game for the cougars. Western Nevada pitcher Brandon Jackson held the Cougars to 3 hits during his 4 innings of work while striking out 4 and surrendering no free passes. On the day the Western Nevada stuff struck-out 8 cougars and did a great job of working ahead in the count.

Posted at 12:46 PM by Donna Barnes | Category: Men's Baseball | Permalink | Email this Post

1/27/2012

Cougars kick off 2012 season in Las Vegas

The South Mountain CC baseball team will begin their 2012 season today in Las Vegas, NV. The Cougars will begin a 4-game series with nationally ranked Western Nevada College. Today’s game, at UNLV, will start at 5pm (MST) with sophomore pitcher Taylor Kaczmarek taking the mound for the Cougars. Saturday’s doubleheader will start at 12pm (MST) and Sunday’s game will start at 12pm (MST).

Posted at 12:49 PM by Donna Barnes | Category: Men's Baseball | Permalink | Email this Post

Kaczmareck not deterred by lack of offense from Cougars in 1-0 victory over Western Nevada

Cougars starter Taylor Kaczmareck doesn't need much help when he is on the rubber and he showed it on Friday at UNLV against Western Nevada. Six strong innings by Kaczmareck carried Cougars to a 1-0 victory over Western Nevada. Corey Lebrun had a good game at the plate for the Cougars. Lebrun went 2-3 and drove in one. Lebrun doubled in the first inning and singled in the third inning. The Cougars had no answer for Matt Robertson, who cruised on the mound. The Cougars managed just two hits off of the Western Nevada's pitcher, who allowed no earned runs, walked one and struck out two during his four innings of work. Zak Johnson got it done on the rubber on the way to a win. He pitched two shutout innings. The Cougars pitcher struck out two, walked none and surrendered two hits. Cougars closer Mike Ebersole put away the final three outs to record the save. Kaczmareck had great control, throwing strikes on 54 of his 87 pitches. Kaczmareck struck out seven and walked none for Cougars. The third inning saw the Cougars score its only run on the day.

Posted at 12:49 PM by Donna Barnes | Category: Men's Baseball | Permalink | Email this Post

12/1/2011

Women's & Men's Basketball Update

The women’s team poured on the points early and never looked back. Though Eastern looked to close the gap at times, the Cougars held strong and defeated the Gila Monsters by a final score of 90-74.

Guard Lia Kioa led the Cougars in scoring with 21. She went shot 50 percent from the field and went 10-for-15 from the free throw line. She also posted six assists and stole the ball twice.

Guard Jontea Byrd also had a big night. Her six field goals and seven free throws put up 19 points for the Cougars. She also had nine rebounds and an assist.

The men’s team had their work cut out for them Wednesday. After springing to an early lead, Eastern proved a tough nut to crack as No. 14 SMCC had to fight tooth and nail for their 79-75 win.

Forward Mike Craig was the stand-out player for the Cougars, as he posted a team-leading 27 points and 20 rebounds. His five assists also helped the team, not to mention a few slam dunks that got his team – and the crowd – ready to win.

Guard Alyx Foster added 21 points to the pile and forward Sergio Gonzalez put in 16 to push the Cougars on to the win.

Both teams will take the court again Saturday when they take on Tohono O'odham Community College Jegos in Sells, AZ. The women tip-off at 5:30 p.m. and the men tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

Go Cougars!

Posted at 8:26 AM by Donna Barnes | Category: General | Permalink | Email this Post

11/21/2011

Kyle Raidy signs Letter of Intent to Grand Canyon University

Sophomore outfielder Kyle Raidy signs National Letter of Intent to attend Grand Canyon University for the 2012-13 academic year. Raidy is the first Cougar baseball player to commit to a 4-year institution for next year. He started in center field for the Cougars last year, with a batting average of .302 and 23 stolen bases. Raidy graduated from Mesa Desert Ridge High School in 2010, winning 2 state championships in his high school career.

Posted at 1:13 PM by Donna Barnes | Category: Men's Baseball | Permalink | Email this Post

10/12/2011

Baseball Cougars Named to Sophomore All-Star Game

Five sophomores from the 2011-2012 South Mountain CC baseball team were named to the Sophomore All-Star showcase. The ACCAC, Division 1, sophomore All-Star game will take place at 7pm on Saturday October 15th at the Peoria Sports Complex. Taylor Kaczmarek (5-3, 3.39 ERA in 2011) and Jared Gaynor (5-2, 3.93 ERA) will each represent the Cougars as pitchers. Outfeilders Timmy Lee (.362 in 2011) and Kyle Raidy (.302 in 2011), along with catcher Russell Vaughan were selected as position players.

Posted at 12:33 PM by Donna Barnes | Category: Men's Baseball | Permalink | Email this Post

10/7/2011

Cougars Win National Preview by 33-shots, Argento Wins Again

Plymouth, IN--- The South Mountain men’s golf team wrapped up there season with a convincing 33-shot victory this week at the NJCAA Division II National Preview. The tournament was played on the black course at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Indiana. The black course at Swan Lake Resort, which has hosted the NAIA National Championship before, showed why it was picked to be the host of the 2012 NJCAA National Championship in May as the tight fairways and heavy rough gave the players a great test of golf. In the first round the Cougars would struggle to get anything going but would still hold a 3-shot lead with a round of 20-over par 302. Freshman Jake Argento and sophomore Jimmy Kozikowski carded rounds of 2-over par 74 which was the low round of the morning, freshman Ben Seward was one shot off the pace at 3-over par 75, sophomore Tad Murray shot 7-over par 79, and sophomore Matt Record shot 8-over par 80.

The afternoon round would find the Cougars playing a lot better as they went around the black course in even-par 288, which opened up a 20-shot lead heading into the final round. The 2011 Phil Mickelson Award Winner Jimmy Kozikowski, would card a tournament low round of 2-under par 70, giving him the overnight lead at even-par 144 and just in front of teammate Jake Argento at 146 who shot even-par 72, Ben Seward would be in 3rd at 147 after carding an even-par round of 72, and Tad Murray would bounce back with a round of 2-over par 74 leaving him at 9-over par 153.

In the final round the Cougars would keep the momentum rolling as they would stretch their 20-shot lead to a 33-shot victory after a closing round of 12-over par 300. Freshman Jake Argento would show that his win earlier this semester was no fluke as he would claim medalist honors with his second tournament win of the year at 2-over par 218 with a final round of even-par 72. Sophomore Jimmy Kozikowski finished in 2nd at 4-over par 220 after a final round of 4-over par 76, freshman Ben Seward finished 3rd at 6-over par 222 after a final round of 3-over par 75, sophomore Tad Murray finished 9th at 14-over par 230 after a final round 5-over par 77, and sophomore Matt Record would finish 12th at 18-over par 234 after a final round of 78.

The Cougars wrapped up the fall winning 2 of their 3 tournaments and ranked as the #1 team in the country in both the Golfstat rankings and GCAA Coaches Poll. They will be back in action in February at The Cactus Thaw hosted by Western New Mexico University in Silver City, New Mexico.

Posted at 10:02 AM by Donna Barnes | Category: Men's Golf | Permalink | Email this Post

9/26/2011

Cougars Finish Second in New Mexico

Ruidoso, NM -- The South Mountain men’s golf team shot a final round 4-under par 284 to finish in second place at the 2011 High Country Shootout. The Cougars started off the tournament strong on day 1 by carding an opening round of 12-under par 276 which put them in 3rd place, behind host schools New Mexico CC and Midland CC who shot 272 and 275 respectively. Leading the way in round 1 for the Cougars was sophomore Matt Record shooting 4-under par 68, freshman Ben Seward and sophomore Tad Murray would carded rounds of 3-under par 69, sophomore Jimmy Kozikowski shot 2-under par 70, and freshman Jake Argento posted 1-under par 71.

In the afternoon round the Cougars would continue their strong play with an 11-under par round of 277 which was good enough for the overnight lead at 23-under par and 5-shots clear of Western Texas CC and Odessa CC who finished the day tied for 2nd at 18-under par. Jake Argento would be the low man in the second round by firing a 6-under par 66, leaving him 1-shot back of 36-hole leaders Richard Farmer from Midland CC and Julian Hilbertz from Western Texas CC, who finished the day at 8-under par. Freshman Ben Seward Ben Seward would card another round of 3-under par 69 leaving him in 4th at 6-under par, sophomores Jimmy Kozikowski and Matt Record would finish at 4-under par, and sophomore Tad Murray would shoot even-par to end the day at 3-under par.

In the final round the Cougars would struggle to get the ball in the hole but were still able to finish under par for the day with a 4-under par round of 284. However, Western Texas would catch fire in the final round and shoot a tournament low of 16-under par 272 and best the Cougars by 7-shots. All five Cougars would finish the tournament in the top 20. Freshman Ben Seward finished tied for 5th at 8-under par 208 after a final round of 2-under par 70, sophomores Jimmy Kozikowski and Matt Record would finish tied for 9th at 6-under par 210 after both carded 2-under par rounds of 70, freshman Jake Argento and sophomore Tad Murray would finish tied for 20th at 1-under par 215 with rounds of six-over 78 and two-over 74 respectively.

The Cougars will be back in action on October 6th – 7th as they head to Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Indiana for the NJCAA National Preview.

Posted at 10:00 AM by Donna Barnes | Category: Men's Golf | Permalink | Email this Post

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