Story and photo by Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

SANTA BARBARA — The Lady Cougars outscored host Santa Barbara City College by a combined 18-3 score to sweep its road doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon.

Canyons (11-3) has won nine of its last 10 games and entered the week ranked No. 8 in Southern California according to the most recent California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association (3CFCA) poll released on Feb. 24.

In Tuesday’s opener COC claimed an 8-1 victory after busting the game wide open with six runs across the final three innings.

Starter Jenna Rorick (6-2) got the win and limited the Vaqueros to four hits and three walks across her seven innings of work, adding three strikeouts along the way.

The COC lineup gave Rorick plenty of support, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead on an RBI single by Ashlynn Heck in the first inning and an RBI double from Chisato Kawahara in the second.

SBCC (3-9) pushed its lone run across in the third inning. Canyons quickly answered back, however, with a two-run fifth inning that included RBIs from Julia Fuentes and Kaitlyn Post.

Post finished the game 3-for-4 with three doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. Kawahara had two extra-base hits, adding a triple in the sixth inning, and eventually scoring an unearned run after the Vaquero infield failed to handle a groundball up the middle by Fuentes.

With COC leading 5-1 heading into the seventh inning Post doubled home Marisa Deleon and later scored on a wild pitch. Camryn Webb added the exclamation point with an RBI single that scored Rorick.

Santa Barbara starter Paige Powell (3-4) lasted five innings and took the loss after allowing four earned runs. Reliefer Cheyenne Walker pitched the final two frames and allowed four runs, one earned.

Canyons needed just six innings to take care of the Vaqueros in the second contest, despite trailing 1-0 through the first three innings.

In the fourth inning it was Rebecca Rodarte helping her own cause with a sac-fly to left field that plated Fuentes.

Rodarte started the game, and tossed the first three and 1/3 innings, allowing two unearned runs in the process.

Santa Barbara reclaimed a brief 2-1 lead on a Canyons infield error in the home half of the fourth inning. COC then erupted for seven runs in the top of the fifth to retake control.

With the bases juiced, Kawahara clubbed a double to right-center field to bring home Webb, Natsuki Kameyama and Deleon. Two batters later Heck homered to right-center field putting the score at 6-2.

COC added two more in the inning when Deleon was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, then tacked on another with Hannah Tennant’s sac-fly.

Now leading 8-2, the Cougars went back to work in the form of a two-RBI double from Rorick, who had entered the game in relief of Rodarte back in the fourth inning.

Rorick claimed the win for her two and 2/3 innings of work and added two doubles at the plate, to help COC get to the 10-2 final score.

Canyons committed four errors in the game, but also turned three double plays to help keep the Vaqueros at bay.

Santa Barbara starter Carson Dunckley (0-5) took the loss after allowing eight runs, six earned, on five hits and four walks.

COC is hosting El Camino College and Cypress College for a Saturday doubleheader on Feb. 29. Canyons and El Camino get underway at 10:00 a.m. Cypress and El Camino will then square off at approximately noon, with the Lady Cougars and Cypress ending the day with a 2:00 p.m. scheduled start time.