Cougars Club Five Home Runs in 11-7 win Over Moorpark

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons clubbed five home runs and received a pair of shutout relief appearances to take down visiting Moorpark College 11-7 on Friday, winning its second straight and fourth across its last five games.

Canyons (6-4) also avenged its 1-0 road loss at Moorpark (2-8) earlier in the week while improving to 3-3 on its home field. The Cougars have now scored a combined 25 runs with victories at Orange Coast College and over Moorpark after being shutout for the first time this season in the first tilt vs. the Raiders.

COC took a 2-1 lead with Charlie Rocca's third-inning home run. That was just the beginning of the Cougars' power surge as Jake Schwartz, Evan Jaquez and Hudson Story hit back-to-back-to-back bombs in the fourth inning to move Canyons ahead 5-2. 

Moorpark answered back with a five-run fifth inning to briefly retake the lead at 7-5. 

Canyons starter Oscar Patron tossed the first four frames before exiting with two on in the fifth. He allowed four runs on seven hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

Moorpark catcher Tre Harvey's three-run shot was followed by a sequence in which the Raiders loaded the bases and eventually brought in another run on a hit batter by Harish Balachondron.

COC head coach Chris Cota then summoned Luke Lemmond from the bullpen with the sophomore able to get out of the inning on a pair of pop ups, after a run-scoring sac-fly left the Cougars trailing 7-5. Lemmond pitched 2 and 2/3 innings with a walk and three strikeouts.

Schwartz teed off on his second home run of the day to lead off the sixth inning while Evan Jaquez scored an unearned run on a double-steal attempt to tie things up at 7-7.

In the seventh, Canyons finally regained the lead at 8-7 with a sac-fly off the bat of Jayden Steinhurst that plated Rocca. Later in the inning, Story produced a two-run single to move things along at 10-7. Jaquez added the final run when he came around on a wild pitch for the 11-7 final.

Jon Bahr's stellar relief outing resulted in the sophomore's first win of the season after racking up four strikeouts in his 2 and 2/3 innings. He sat down all eight batters he faced in earning the decision.

Top Performers

• Jon Bahr — W (2-0), 2.2 IP, 4 K
• Evan Jaquez — 1-for-3, BB, HR, RBI, R
• Luke Lemmond — 2.1 IP, BB, 3 K
• Charlie Rocca — 2-for-3, BB, HR, RBI, 2 R, SB
• Jake Schwartz — 3-for-3, BB, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
• Hudson Story — 2-for-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI, R

Upcoming Schedule

The Cougars are back in action Thursday, Feb. 22 at Santa Ana College for a 2 p.m. first pitch.

The series then shifts back to COC, with the Cougars and Dons slated to complete their two-game series on Saturday, Feb. 24. First pitch for that contest is set for 1 p.m.

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 X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo by Carla Sophia Velasco/COC Sports Information