Cougars Unravel Against Riverside On Final Day of Playoff Tournament

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The No. 4 College of the Canyons softball dropped the final two games of the Super Regional tournament to Riverside College on Sunday afternoon, after entering the games as the lone undefeated squad in the four-team, double elimination tournament.

In a winner takes all game, College of the Canyons dropped a 11-0 decision to Riverside College, after the Tigers forced the second game of the afternoon, by beating COC 11-1 earlier that day. On the day, COC allowed seven homeruns on the day and ran out of steam on the third and final day of the super regional tournament. 

With the two losses, Canyons fell to 34-11-2 as Riverside College advanced to the state championship tournament, for the second consecutive year, after beating COC in the Super Regionals. 

In the opening game of the Super Regional Tournament, College of the Canyons Cougars throttled the No. 5-seeded Santiago Canyon College Hawks (32-10), 6-1, in Friday’s late game, moving COC to the winner's bracket. Canyons scored twice in the first inning for a 2-0 lead and then stretched a 3-1 lead into the final 6-1 score, thanks to three unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth. Santiago Canyon sophomore centerfielder Morgan McGee scored the Hawks' only run when she reached first base after striking out on a wild pitch, then stole second and third bases, before scoring on a wild pitch in the second inning. Sophomore Kimmie Lockhart went the distance for Canyons to improve to 24-5, while SCC sophomore starting pitcher Josie Tucker took the loss (15-5).

In the Cougars second game, the No. 4-seeded College of the Canyons Cougars outlasted the top-ranked Tigers, 6-5, Saturday afternoon to advance as the lone undefeated squad in the four-team, double-elimination tournament. Riverside's Natalie Barrios socked a solo homerun in the sixth inning to tie the game at 5-5, before Canyons scored in the top of the eighth. COC sophomore Melissa Reynosa walked and scored the winning run on a wild pitch. 

Riverside throttled the No. 4-seeded College of the Canyons (34-11-2), 11-1, and, 10-0, in a pair of mercy-rule invoked, five-inning victories on Sunday, knocking the Cougars out of the playoffs. In a "must win" game for the Tigers, Riverside posted four runs in each of the first two innings for an 8-0 lead. Freshman Tiger Christina Mohl had the big blow in the first inning with a two-run single. RCC upped its advantage to 11-0 in the fourth when sophomore Natalie Barrios socked a three-run homerun. COC starting sophomore Kimmie Lockhart went the distance for Canyons in the first game, but arguably deserved a better fate. She allowed 11 runs (five earned) on 10 hits and five walks as her record fell to 25-6. 

In the second game of the afternoon, Riverside broke a scoreless tie with a solo homerun to centerfield in the top of the third inning, followed by three more homeruns, putting the Cougars down 3-0. Riverside added seven more runs in the top of the fourth and allowed six homeruns total in the game. COC starting sophomore Savannah Gutierrez went the first 3-2/3 innings and allowed all 10 runs (all earned) on 12 hits and one walk as her record fell to 6-3.