Mild temperatures and pleasant sunshine make spring the perfect time to enjoy a variety of SCC sports.

For instance, what could be more pleasant than a nice walk around a local golf course? The women and men’s teams at SCC have both started their seasons.  The ladies team began the season with five players but has been whittled down to two participants due to injuries and eligibility issues.  Dan Dersam is the head coach of both the men and women’s golf programs at SCC.  He explained that a team must have at least four players to qualify to compete at the team level at tournaments.  Our two lady Artichokes can still play this season for individual honors and be eligible for Nationals.

The men’s golf team had a fast start to their 2015 campaign with the eight man squad capturing third place honors at the Glendale CC Invitational held at Sun City South on Feb. 5 and 6.  In individual competition, SCC golfer Forde Makas has finished inside the top ten in both tournaments the team has played so far and is ranked third in the NJCAA in scoring average.

Fans are encouraged to attend tournaments and support Artichoke golfers.  Entry into tournaments is free and occasionally the host courses will offer to rent golf cars to spectators.  If you do rent a golf car to follow your favorite Artichoke players, it is considered correct form to tip your outside services representative for cleaning and maintaining the cars.  Spectators are required to remain on the cart path.  Encouraging the golfers is allowed but spectators mustn’t engage in conversation with players during competition.  Individual and team statistics as well as a schedule of upcoming tournaments for both women and men can be found in their appropriate categories at golfstat.com.

Enjoying a game at the ballpark is another excellent springtime activity.

The baseball team is off to a similar but even faster start than the men’s golf team. From Jan. 30, the team’s season opener, until Feb. 10, a thrilling 11-10 win against Paradise Valley CC, the team went 8-1 scoring an impressive 76 runs.  Head baseball coach Alex Cherney predicts more offense to come.  Cherney also stressed that what has been making the team successful has been balance across the board and good team chemistry.  Fans can see that good chemistry on display by attending home games at the baseball field located within the Dr. Arthur W. Decabooter Athletics Complex here at SCC.

This year’s Artichoke softball team has a difficult act to follow after last year’s trip to the National Finals in Clinton, Mississippi.  Add a new head coach and 14 new players to the mix and anything could happen.  What’s happened so far is a lot of solid play against good and ranked teams.  Head coach Caylyn Wagner says the strong point of this year’s team is excellent offense.

All that good hitting should lead to excitement in the stands.  Fans can be a part of that action by attending home games at the softball field, also located in the Dr. Arthur W. Decabooter Athletics Complex.

To view the full schedule for all spring sports teams at SCC and see results from past games and other important information visit www.gochockes.com.

SCC students with ID and kids age 12 and under get in free for softball games.  Tickets for adults are $5 and students over the age of 12 are admitted for $3.

Admission to regular season baseball games is free.  The fee to attend Region I playoff games is $5.

Female students interested in joining the golf team who are taking at least 12 credit hours at SCC can contact Dersam by e-mail at danny.dersam@scottsadalecc.edu or by calling his office phone (480)423-6609.