By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons softball was represented with two selections on the 2022 National Fastpitch Coaches Association California JC College All-American Team with slugger Ashlynn Heck and pitcher/utility player Allyson Melgar included in the group of 26 honorees from across the state.

Canyons was one of seven teams to have multiple players selected to the All-American team. Honorees must be nominated by their NFCA-member head coach before being selected via vote by the coaches in their region. A full list of honorees is included here.

Heck finished the 2022 season batting .434 with 13 doubles, 10 triples and .727 slugging percentage across 42 games, including the postseason. She tallied 39 RBIs and crossed home plate on 45 occasions.

Her 10 triples rank second in the state and her batting average is fourth in the Western State Conference (WSC). The center fielder also led Canyons in total hits (62), runs and RBIs and was second with a .454 on-base percentage.

Melgar starred for the Cougars both at the plate and in the circle. She posted a .426 batting average with 15 doubles, five home runs and 35 RBIs through 40 regular season games. Her .460 on-base percentage was tops on the club.

The two-way player also led her team from the circle in 18 games (15 completed), producing 13 wins, the third highest total in the WSC, against five losses. Melgar harbored a 2.85 ERA throughout her 135 innings of work, rendering 87 strikeouts and recorded one save on the season.

Canyons finished the regular season 25-17-1 overall with an 8-4 mark in conference play to finish second in the Western State Conference, East Division and advance to the postseason for the ninth straight season. The No. 9 seed Cougars lost its three-game postseason series vs. No. 7 Santiago Canyon in the opening round of the California Community College Athletic Association SoCal Regional Playoffs.

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.