By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons is playing in a California Community College Athletic Association Southern California Super Regional for the first time since 2013, with the Cougars slated to face Grossmont College on Thursday, May 11 in the opening game of the three-team, double elimination tournament being hosting by Southwestern College.

Canyons (24-16) began the postseason as the region’s No. 19 seed. The Cougars then eliminated No. 6 Orange Coast College in a 2-0 series win in advancing to the Super Regional Round. The playoff series win was the first for Canyons since the Cougars eliminated San Bernardo Valley College by a 2-0 margin on the road in 2013.

The Cougars are batting a combined .321 on the season and will come into the series as winners of three straight. The COC lineup boasts seven All-Western State Conference (WSC), South Division selections including the 2023 Player of the Year in Andy Ambriz.

Ambriz has now hit safely in 18 straight games dating back to March 25. He was a combined 5-for-10 with a walk, six runs and four RBIs in the two games vs. Orange Coast.

COC sophomore starting pitcher Gavino Rosales (5-0) remains unbeaten on the year after picking up a postseason win over the Pirates in game one. Rosales was an All-WSC Honorable Mention selection for the Cougars.

No. 22 Grossmont College (22-17) dispatched of No. 3 Riverside City College (28-13) in back-to-back games to see its win streak move to six straight. The Griffins were 14-3 winners in game 1 then took care of business vs. the Tigers with a 4-2 victory in the clinch contest.

Grossmont saw nine players earn All-Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) honors at season’s end including top hurler Kyle Dobyns (6-2 / 3.56 ERA) and position players Broadie Romero (.383 / 7 HR / 24 RBI) and Ethan Cashetta (.301 / 8 HR / 28 RBI).

Meanwhile, No. 15 Southwestern College (24-17) was a winner over No. 10 Allan Hancock (27-15) to advance while claiming hosting duties for the Super Regional.

SWC went to extra innings to take game one from Allan Hancock 3-2 in 12 innings. The two sides were involved in another tight ballgame before Southwestern was able to take game two by a 6-4 final score.

The Jaguars will serve as the No. 1 seed for the Super Regional based on its lower seed to begin the postseason.

Canyons is the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 3 Grossmont in game one at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 11 from Southwestern College.

The loser of that contest will then play the host Jaguars in game two on Thursday afternoon, immediately following the conclusion of game one.

The outcome of game two will determine the schedule for the remainder of the weekend with contests scheduled for both Friday and Saturday.

The winner of the tournament will move on as one of four teams competing at the CCCAA SoCal Regional Finals being held May 18-21.

The other three Super Regional brackets include:

No. 2 Saddleback (31-10) / No. 7 Glendale (31-11) / No. 11 El Camino (30-12) @ Saddleback College — Mission Viejo, CA.

No. 4 Santa Ana (28-14) / No. 5 Cypress (28-13) / No. 9 Santa Barbara City (29-14 @ Santa Ana College — Santa Ana, CA.

No. 13 Fullerton (23-19) / No. 17 L.A. Valley (25-18) / No. 24 East L.A. (20-23) @ Fullerton College — Fullerton, CA.

Admission to the CCCAA SoCal Super Regional at Southwestern College is $12 for adults and $8 for students, seniors over 60 and children under 12.

Southwestern College is located at 900 Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista. Free parking is available in campus parking lot T.

Live statistics will be available for all games.

Stay up to date on all this season’s action by visiting the College of the Canyons Athletic department and following on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.