No. 16 Canyons Advances to Next Round 11-4 Over No. 17 Cerro Coso

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons freshman Brandon Whiting tossed seven strong innings and the Cougar lineup collected 16 hits — including a three-run home run from Mikey Kane — to overcome visiting Cerro Coso College 11-4 in the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs Play-In Round on Tuesday at Cougar Field.

No. 16 Canyons (21-20, 12-9) was playing in the postseason for the first time since 2018, after having the 2020 and 2021 seasons lost due to cancellations brought about the by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whiting's seven-inning start tied with Kyle Cop (7 IP on March 26) for the longest by any Cougar hurler this season. He scattered nine hits and was charged with four earned runs, two of which came home to score after he left the game with runners on in the eighth inning.  

The Coyotes (24-16, 16-8) scored the first run of the game in the first inning on an RBI-double from Danny Jimenez. Whitting (5-2) emerged unphased, however, and went on to blank Cerro Coso for the next five frames. 

"Just throwing strikes and letting my defense work and winning a ball game," said Whiting about his performance on Tuesday.

"It boosted my confidence a lot and the team's," he added about the long start coming in the Cougars' biggest game of the year thus far. "I know (my teammates) trust me out there and know I can throw strikes. And I know my offense will score some runs for me."

Meanwhile, the Cougars jumped all over Cerro Coso starter Peyton Sutherland, chasing the freshman after just two innings of work. 

Doyle Kane posted the first two Cougar runs of the game with his RBI double in the first. Then it was DJ Kougher and Alex Ballesteros with RBI singles to put the game at 3-1.

In the second it was Doyle Kane at it again with an RBI sac-fly that continued the positive momentum at 4-1. 

With Whiting continuing to control things from the mound Canyons put together a four-run sixth highlighted by Andy Ambriz' RBI base hit and the three-run blast from Mikey Kane that bounced off the scoreboard at Cougar Field. 

"I definitely knew I got some of hit," said Mikey Kane about the inside pitch that he muscled out of the park, "but with this wind and how high it was I just wasn't sure. I think the backspin made it leave."

Brooks Scott led off the Coyote seventh with a solo home run to make it 8-2 before Whitting got through the inning.

Tafton Hensley chipped in with an RBI sac-fly that brought home Jovan Camacho. Canyons then added a pair of unearned runs to end the inning at 11-2.

The Coyotes' last effort included a pair of runs charged to Whitting for an 11-4 final score.

Tuesday's postseason win was the first since Canyons defeated Palomar College in the opening game of its three-game series back on May 4, 2018.

COC is playing in the postseason for the 27th time in program history and the ninth under head coach Chris Cota.

"I feel great, I am so excited," said Mikey Kane in the aftermath of Tuesday's game. "The team is great! We all love each other and it seems like were all excited to go out and get the job done."

Top Performers

• Brandon Whiting — W, 7 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB
• Mikey Kane — 2-for-4, BB, HR, R, 3 RBI
• Doyle Kane — 3-for-4, 2B, SAC, 3 R, 2 RBI
• Jovan Camacho — 4-for-4, BB, 2B, 2 R, RBI
• Andy Ambriz — 3-for-4, BB, R, RBI
• DJ Kougher — 1-for-2, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI

Upcoming Schedule

Canyons continues into the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs bracket as the No. 16 seed. 

The Cougars will now travel to face No. 2 Glendale College (34-6, 20-1) in a three-game series beginning Friday, May 6. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. The action continues Saturday at 12 p.m. If necessary, a third game would be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two.

COC and Glendale are longtime conference rivals with both programs hailing from the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division. The Vaqueros finished the regular season as conference champions and are currently the No. 3 ranked team in the state. Glendale swept the three-game conference series vs. Canyons in early April.

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