Canyons Softball Narrowly Falls 8-7 at AVC
By Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information
LANCASTER — College of the Canyons narrowly fell to Antelope Valley College in an 8-7 ball game on Thursday afternoon.
Canyons (16-8-1, 3-2) freshman Ashlynn Heck was first to get the Cougars moving in the third inning with an RBI sac-fly, bringing Valery Ramirez home for a 1-1 tie.
Antelope Valley (18-8, 4-1) had claimed the first run of the game and remained in the lead throughout most of the contest, despite the Cougars' persistence.
The Marauders eventually answered Heck's RBI, regaining the lead at 3-1 and then tacking on a couple more runs in the fifth inning.
Canyons made moves in the sixth inning to tie the game back at 5-5. Julia Fuentes opened the inning by smashing the ball over the fence, bringing energy to the Cougars.
Allyson Melgar singled, granting Heck access to home plate from second base. Vanessa Reyes made her way home, pinch running for Melgar, after AVC caught Alyssa Silva stealing at second.
The tying run came when McKenzi Gardette tripled, brining Heck home.
However, the Marauders reclaimed the lead when Melgar issued a walk with bases loaded.
From there, COC Head Coach John Wissmath looked to Samantha Flores to close out the game, moving Melgar to first base.
AVC managed to squeeze two more runs in before Flores closed out the inning.
The Cougars continued to stitch runs together, but it wasn't enough before the final out leaving an 8-7 loss.
Top Performers
- Julia Fuentes – 1-for-3, HR, BB, R, RBI
- Ashlynn Heck – 2-for-3, 2B, sac-fly, 2 R, 2 RBI
- McKenzi Gardette – 1-for-1, 3B, RBI
- Allyson Melgar – 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI
- Brianne Tall – 1-for-3, 2B, BB, R
Upcoming Schedule
The Cougars are set for a road doubleheader Saturday, April 2 at Cypress College. First pitch is at 11 a.m. vs. Cypress with the second game is slated to start at 1 p.m. vs. El Camino College. COC will be back in conference play Tuesday, April 5 at 2:30 p.m. taking on Citrus at Whitten Field.
Canyons softball home games will be live streamed to fans on YouTube via the Cougars Sports Network. Continue to monitor www.COCathletics.com for livestream links or subscribe to the COC Athletics channel on YouTube.
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