No. 3 Canyons Picks Up 12-1 Win Over Citrus College
COC freshman right-hander Justin Dehn pitched five strong innings en route to the win.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Citrus
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
|
Canyons
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | X | 12 | 17 | 0 |
The No. 3 regionally ranked College of the Canyons baseball team picked up its first series win of the Western State Conference (WSC) season, as the Cougars defeated visiting Citrus College 12-1 on Saturday.
The Cougar (12-3) and Owls (8-7-1) entered Saturday's rubber match having already exchanged wins and losses in the first two games.
Canyons won the first game 7-3 on March 8, then fell in a close 9-8 game on March 10.
But on Saturday it was all Canyons, as freshman right-hander Justin Dehn pitched five strong innings en route to the win.
Dehn (2-0) allowed just one run and struck out four along the way, before exiting with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning.
However, sophomore Cy Scott came on in relief and quickly neutralized the Citrus threat by striking out the side to end the inning.
Scott and relievers Sean Ward and Zach Hanks combined to pitch four innings of shutout baseball, allowing only one base runner in the process.
At the dish, Canyons was able to put the game out of reach with a big six-run fifth inning that featured a towering grand slam home run from freshman outfielder Chad Bible. That knock gave the Cougars a 10-0 lead heading to the top of the sixth inning.
Bible currently leads the state with seven home runs. His team-leading 24 RBIs rank fourth in California.
The Cougars also received home runs from catcher Anthony Lepre and third baseman Wyatt Hoppie in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively.
Shortstop JD Krauskopf finished the game 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
A total of five Cougars recorded multi-hit games with Krauskopf joined by Roy Verdejo (2-for-5, two runs), Lepre (2-for-4, two RBIs), Jake Spurlin (2-for-4, two RBIs), and Hoppie (2-for-4, two runs).
As a team, the Cougars are currently leading the state with a .354 batting average. They have also clubbed a state-best 21 home runs through 15 games.
Canyons will next travel to face No. 19 L.A. Valley College at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 15. The Cougars will return home for the second game of the series at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17.
