Canyons Baseball Goes 2-1 at AHC Spring Tourney
By Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information
College of the Canyons took part in the annual Spring Classic Tournament hosyed by Allan Hancock College April 5-7, walking away victorious in two of its three games.
Canyons (8-11, 9-3) took on Merced College in Santa Maria for the first game, beating the Blue Devils in a shortened four-inning game with a score of 12-3.
The Cougars saw doubles from Andrew Allanson, Jake Schwartz, Aaron Ruvalcaba and Ryan Camacho along with an array of RBIs from the lineup. Schwartz finished the game going 2-for-3, bringing in four RBIs and crossing the plate twice.
COC sophomore pitcher Brooks Snyder (2-4) lead the Cougars through all four innings facing 16 batters. He was charged with three runs on four hits while issuing five strikeouts and walking two. Snyder's performance on the mound earned him the win.
The Cougars then went on to face East L.A. College the next day, beating the Huskies 7-4.
Canyons sophomore pitcher Malakai Correll (4-2) carried the Cougars through six full innings before handing the ball to Luke Lemmond.
Correll fought to hold the Huskies scoreless serving three strikeouts, two walks and only three hits. Lemmond was on the mound for 2/3 of the seventh inning where ELAC managed to put up their only four runs.
The Cougars still held the lead at 6-4, as Josh Yosfan closed out the inning. COC sophomore Xavier Stoker then took over for Yosfan to get the last out of the eighth inning before Schwartz closed out the 7-4 victory.
Canyons saw doubles from Charlie Rocca, Dane Flashberg and two from Jovan Camacho. Rocca brought in an RBI, along with Andy Ambriz and Alex Sepulveda and Flashberg both worked for two of their own.
Facing Fresno City College on the third day of the tourney, the Cougars couldn't quite overtake the Rams, despite a pair of home runs in the seventh inning, eventually leaving town with an 8-4 loss.
Ryan Camacho worked his way around the bases in the third inning to get the Cougars in the game at 1-1.
However, the Rams responded in the fifth and six innings to pull ahead by five runs.
The Cougars found hope in the seventh when Ambriz homered to tack on another run. Soon after, Ruvalcaba did the same, bringing in two more runs.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough momentum, as the Rams homered in the ninth inning leaving a final 8-4 score.
Tyler Biggs (2-3) was charged with the loss, as the go-ahead run was under his watch. Biggs worked for four and 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and issuing four strikeouts and two walks.
Upcoming Schedule
The Cougars will be at West L.A. College to continue conference play on Tuesday, April 11 before returning home to host the Wildcats for a 2:30 p.m. start time on Thursday. Canyons closes out the three-game series on the road, back at West L.A. 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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 Tim Dugan/COC Sports Information