Cougars Push Past Allan Hancock 7-6 For First Victory
By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director
MONTEREY PARK — College of the Canyons picked up its first victory of the season after pushing across an eighth-inning run to get the better of Allan Hancock College in a 7-6 affair that had to be relocated to East L.A. College due to soggy field conditions in Santa Clarita.
Canyons (1-5) spotted the Bulldogs (3-2) a 1-0 lead in the second before tying things up on a Reid Farell single that plated Evan Jaquez. Later in the inning Hunter Essang drove in a run and Jose Mariano brought home two more putting the Cougars on top 4-1.
Marino finished the game 4-for-4 with a double and the pair of RBIs.
Allan Hancock evened things up at 4-4 after a two-run fourth inning that was aided by a Cougar infield error.
COC starter Oscar Patron tossed the first five innings allowing four runs, one earned, with three walks and four strikeouts but did not factor into the decision.
Trailing 5-4 in the home half of the sixth, Frankie Malagon teed off on his second home run of the year, a two-run shot to put the game at 6-5 for the Cougars.
The back-and-forth antics continued in the seventh when Allan Hancock scratched out another run, this time against COC reliever Tyler Jackson, on an RBI base hit brining the game to 6-6.
Anthony Estrada (1-0) took the ball for Canyons in the eighth and ended up pitching a pair of scoreless innings to get his first win of the season.
Still tied at 6-6, Jaquez and Malagon led off the bottom of the eighth with back-to-back walks. Jaquez later advanced to third on a passed ball and then came around to score on an RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Kotaro Kuwatani.
Allan Hancock managed to get a pair of runners on in the ninth but could get no further in the 7-6 Canyons victory.
Top Performers
- Anthony Estrada — W (1-0), 3 H
- Reid Farell — 1-for-3, BB, R, RBI
- Evan Jaquez — 1-for-4, BB, 3 R
- Frankie Malagon — 2-for-3, BB, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
- Jose Mariano — 4-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
- Oscar Patron — 5 IP, ER, 3 BB, 4K
Upcoming Schedule
Canyons will take on Cosumnes River College at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8 from Mike Gillespie Field.
The Cougars will then enter a busy week with scheduled games at Chaffey College on Feb. 12, back home vs. Orange Coast College on Feb. 13 and home again vs. Santa Ana College on Feb. 15.
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 Robert Hanashiro/COC Sports Information