Cougars Lose 7-6 in Extra Innings at Bakersfield
COC is now 12-6 on the season and 5-1 in conference play.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The College of the Canyons baseball team lost its first conference game in heartbreaking fashion, falling 7-6 to Bakersfield College in 11 innings on Saturday afternoon.
The extra innings loss snapped the Cougars' five-game winning streak and marked the first loss in conference play for head coach Chris Cota's club.
Sloppy defense plagued both teams in the game, but hurt the Cougars the most including one sequence in the bottom of the ninth inning that lead to the eventual game-tying run. COC allowed four errors in all.
The Cougars led 3-0 through two innings after pouncing on Bakersfield starting pitcher Allan Winans.
COC's Chris Devery doubled to right field driving home two Dylan Freyre and Colton Burns to make it 2-0 in the first inning.
Devery had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three runs batted in. He now has 12 RBIs on the season.
The Cougars then scored an unearned run when Jake Spurlin scored on a sacrifice bunt by Jake Ryan to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead.
The Renegades finally took the lead in the bottom of the fifth and held onto it into the top of the ninth inning when COC would surge ahead once more.
The Cougars rally began with a Roy Verdejo sacrifice fly to score Jose Haros and tie the game at 5-5. Two batters later, with two outs, freshman Cole Mears singled to left field scoring Freyre to give the Cougars a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom the ninth.
However, in the bottom half of the frame a Freyre error at third base allowed Bakersfield's Hanz Harker to score from second base. Harker reached base after singling off reliever Haros who entered to begin the inning.
In the eleventh inning, three Renegade singles brought home the winning run to end a disappointing day at Gerry Collis Field.
The loss drops COC's overall record to 12-6 on the season and gives the Cougars their first blemish in conference play at 5-1.
The Cougars next game matches them up against Glendale Community College at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, at Cougar Field.