Boyajian Named Co-WSC Player of the Year, 8 Cougars Named All-Conference

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons sophomore outfielder Sierra Boyajian earned a pair of impressive accolades this week, with the former Hart High School standout named co-Western State Conference (WSC), East Division Player of the Year in addition to a spot on the All-State team.

Boyajian led Canyons with a .387 batting average, 500 on-base percentage and .642 slugging percentage. During 14 conference contests those numbers improved to .579/.660/.921.

She led the team with 32 RBIs, finished second with 41 total hits and 10 steals, and added 31 runs, 13 doubles, four triples and two home runs.

Boyajian shares the co-WSC Player of the Year honors with shortstop Isabelle Gomez of Antelope Valley College.

"Sierra is a great hitter whose bat we're going to need heading into the postseason," said COC head coach John Wissmath, who has guided the Lady Cougars into the playoffs for a seventh straight season.

"She plays up to her full potential by never being afraid to make a big time play," added Wissmath, "and has gotten stronger playing in the outfield every game."

Boyajian was one of just four players from the WSC to be named to the California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association (3CFCA) All-State team.

The Lady Cougars had eight players earn All-WSC, East Division honors.

Freshman Kaitlyn Post, sophomore Megan Wilson and sophomore Micayla Aguilar were named to the All-WSC First-Team.

Post led the squad in total hits (43) and doubles (18). The former Canyon High School star ranked second on the team in batting average (.381), slugging percentage (.623), RBIs (31), runs (33) and triples (four). She also appeared in 19 games from the circle, making nine starts and 10 relief appearances to compile a 9-5 record.

"Kaitlyn put up uncanny stats as a freshman," Wissmath said. "Her contributions at the plate and in the circle were magnificent."

Aguilar, who also attended Canyon High School, batted .358 for the season with a team-high four RBIs along with 27 RBIs and 26 runs scored.

Wilson, who attended West Ranch, anchored the Cougars pitching staff with a 13-9 record and 3.27 ERA in 135 innings of work. She struck out 60 batters and allowed just one home run.

Second-Team honorees for Canyons included freshmen Camryn Webb and Natsuki Kameyama and sophomores Rena Edwards and Valerie Rivas.

Webb finished the regular season with a .327 average and 24 RBIs, while sharing the team lead with four home runs. Her 33 runs were tied with Post for second on the squad.

Kameyama, who hails from Fukuoka, Japan, provided a big spark for Canyons this season. Primarily batting from the No. 2 spot in Wissmath's lineup, Kameyama led the team with 34 runs. She batted .351, got on base at a .425 clip and swiped 10 bags.

"Natsuki played great defensively and has been excellent with her offensive short game and speed on the bases," Wissmath said. "Webb goes 100 percent all the time – always hustles, always runs hard and is unafraid."

Edwards was second in the WSC with 19 stolen bases and added a .319 batting average with 30 runs and 25 RBIs from the leadoff spot.

Rivas batted .349 for Canyons with a .429 on-base percentage. She notched 28 RBIs and scored 24 runs on the year.

"Edwards could be our team's most valuable player," said Wissmath about the sophomore who has started games at catcher, center field and shortstop.

"Rivas uses her mental toughness to run our ship and make sure the team stays focused. She's our team's 'Crash Davis,'" commented Wissmath, in reference to the fictional character depicted by Kevin Costner in the 1988 baseball film "Bull Durham."

The Lady Cougars batted .336 as a team, good for second in the WSC. That mark helped translate to a conference-leading 271 runs scored. COC's 227 RBIs was second in the conference. 

COC (23-17, 10-4) finished the regular season as runner-up in the Western State Conference (WSC), East Division after winning the conference a season ago.

Canyons enters the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs as the No. 12 seed vs. No. 5 Fullerton College in a best-of-three series.

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.