No. 6 Canyons Advances to Super Regional with 2-1 Series Win Over No. 11 Moorpark
The Cougars (31-12) will be joined by event host No. 2 Santiago Canyon (34-7), No. 3 Mt. SAC (37-5) & No. 9 Santa Barbara City College (30-12), in the double-elimination tournament being held May 13-16.
No. 6 College of the Canyons has advanced to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Super Regional, after bouncing back from a one-game deficit to sweep a Mother's Day doubleheader from No. 11 Moorpark College and clinch the best-of-three series 2-1.
The Cougars looked impressive on both sides of the ball Sunday, with sophomore All-State pitcher Ashley Russo tossing seven shutout innings for a 4-0 win in Game 2, and sophomore All-SoCal first baseman Kiana Holder knocking a grand slam to power COC's 9-1 series-clinching victory in game three.
Moorpark, the Western State Conference (WSC), Gold Division champions, had previously defeated COC 5-3 in the series opener.
But it was all Canyons on Sunday.
Russo (24-9) pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, while striking out four Raiders, to help set the tone for COC in Game 2.
In the first of several clutch hits on the day, Holder put the Cougars on the board with an RBI-single in the top of the third inning that brought home Cheyenne Steward. Despite hosting the series, COC was designated as the visiting team in both games on Sunday, the result of a pre-game coin flip.
In the fourth inning it was more timely hitting for COC, this time from outfielder Nicole Maliniemi who singled to drive home Julianna Carlos. With Moorpark pitcher Caitlin Vinyard struggling to record outs, the Cougars pounced on another scoring opportunity when Alejandra Navarro ripped an RBI-triple to that wall to make it a 3-0 affair.
Holder added another RBI-single in the seventh inning to make it 4-0, but by then the fans at Ray Whitten Field were already clamoring for Game 3. She finished the contest 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while Steward was 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Russo got the call once again in Game 3, her third start of the series, and did not disappoint. The WSC, South Pitcher of the Year threw the full five innings and allowed just one earned run while walking three and striking out two.
But it was the Canyons lineup that stole the headlines in this one, as three Cougars registered multi-hit games before Holder's fourth-inning grand slam capped a five-run inning and put the game out of reach for Moorpark.
The Raiders were already facing an uphill battle after Vinyard, who started her third game of the series while also batting in the No. 3 hole, had to leave the game after taking a hard line drive off her pitching hand in the second inning. Vinyard had put her hand up to protect her face from a come-backer through the circle.
Julianna Carlos was 2-for-3 with a run scored in the game, while Maliniemi was 2-for-2. Bailey Bodkin finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
Elsewhere in the lineup, Sarah Wilson was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored and Ariana Rea was 1-for-3 while plating two runs.
Gabrielle Padilla also had a pinch-hit RBI single in COC's big fourth inning.
Canyons (31-12), champions of the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division) has not played in a Super Regional since the 2013 season.
The Cougars will be joined by event host No. 2 Santiago Canyon College (34-7), No. 3 Mt. SAC (37-5) and No. 9 Santa Barbara City College (30-12), in the double-elimination tournament being held May 13-16.
Canyons and Mt. SAC will square off at 4 p.m. on Friday, with Santiago Canyon and SBCC getting things started earlier in the day at 2 p.m.
