Canyons Downs L.A. Pierce 15-6, Clinches Playoff Berth
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
LA Pierce
|
0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
|
Canyons
|
0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | X | 15 | 17 | 0 |
By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director
GLENDALE — College of the Canyons clinched the 27th postseason appearance in program history on Saturday, playing to a 15-6 non-conference win over L.A. Pierce College in a night game under the lights at Glendale College.
Canyons (20-20, 12-9) finished the 2022 season as runner-up in the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division and will next enter the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoff bracket. L.A. Pierce (10-30, 7-17) concluded its season with a pair of losses on the final day of the regular season.
COC trailed 1-0 heading to the home half of the second but was able to push across four runs on a solo home run by Jovan Camacho and a three-run blast from Brandon Whiting to make it a 4-1 affair.
The Brahmas tied the game at 4-4 in the third after driving COC starter Kyle Cop from the game. But by the fourth momentum had shifted back in the Cougars' favor thanks to an RBI single from Ryan Camacho and another three-run home run, this time coming off the bat of Tafton Hensley to put the game at 8-4.
Hensley's home run gives him 15 on the season and puts him in the lead among all CCCAA batters. He also added an RBI-triple to his stat line, ending the day with four RBI.
The Cougars added four more in the sixth and then followed suite with runs in the seventh and eighth to finish with seven unanswered runs.
Joey Rocha, Andy Ambriz, and Jovan Camacho each drove home runs in the big Cougar sixth. Hensley's triple in the seventh was followed by RBI knocks from Brandon Rainer and Whiting in the eighth.
Top Performers
- Tafton Hensley — 2-for-5, HR, 3B, R, 4 RBI
- Brandon Whiting — 3-for-4, BB, HR, 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI
- Ryan Camacho — 3-for-5, 3 R, RBI
- Andy Ambriz — 2-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
- Brandon Rainer — 2-for-5, 2B, RBI
Upcoming Schedule
Canyons will enter the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs as the No. 16 seed. The Cougars will host No. 17 Cerro Coso College in the regional bracket play-in at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 3 at Cougar Field.
Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
—Photo by Kyle Kawamoto/COC Sports Information