No. 15 Canyons Gets 4-3 Road Win vs. Monarchs

No. 15 College of the Canyons scored three runs in the fourth and received seven strong innings from starter Chase Wheatcroft to pick up a 4-3 road win over L.A. Valley College on Thursday for the club's second win in as many days. 

Canyons (7-4) tied the game at 1-1 in the third when freshman second baseman Anthony Medina doubled home Cole Kleszcz.

The following inning freshman third baseman Calvin Estrada singled in Chris May who walked and stole second to lead off the inning. That sequence gave COC the lead at 2-1, and started what would be the Cougars' decisive rally.

Two batters later Kleszcz clubbed a two-out triple that brought Estrada and Senituli Taufahema around to score and made it a 4-1 Cougar advantage.

Kleszcz finished the game 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs. Estrada was 2-for-3 with a run, RBI and walk.

On the mound, Wheatcroft (3-0) allowed a Monarch RBI-single in the second inning before benefitting from an inning-ending double play and settling down the rest of the way. The Monarchs were able to plate two more runs on an RBI single in the sixth, but never got any closer than a 4-3 score.

Wheatcroft finished the game with four strikeouts in his seven innings.

Sophomore Jack Kernochan handled a scoreless eighth inning before handing things over to Connor Dreyer who recorded his third save of the season.

COC has now won back-to-back games, and seven of its last eight, after beginning the season 0-3.

Canyons will next play a two-game home-away series with No. 2 Orange Coast College beginning, Sat. Feb. 25.

The Cougars will host game two of the series at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28.

—Story and photos by Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information