By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons sophomore Allyson Melgar pitched her first career no-hitter and the Cougars pounded out 13 hits for a convincing 11-0 conference victory over L.A. Valley College in five innings at Whitten Field on Tuesday.

Canyons (7-2, 2-1) has won six of its last seven after suffering a conference road loss at Citrus College last Thursday.

Melgar (4-2) retired the first 14 batters she faced to come within an out of a perfect game before the Monarchs finally got a baserunner aboard on a two-out infield error by the Cougars. Unphased, Melgar promptly struck out the next batter to end the game and complete the no-hit bid. In all, she struck out five batters and also went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI in support of her own efforts.

L.A. Valley (2-13, 0-2) which has now lost 11 of its last 12 games, never stood a chance with Melgar in the circle and the Lady Cougars’ hot-hitting lineup behind her. COC has now plated eight or more runs in four of its last five outings.

Ashlynn Heck got the scoring started with an RBI-single in the first then stole home on a double steal to make it an early 2-0 lead for COC.

Canyons erupted for eight more runs in the second after bringing 13 batters to the plate. LAVC simply could not get out of the inning which saw the Lady Cougars score four runs before a single out had been recorded.

Again, it was Heck with an RBI-triple in the inning. Memorie Muñoz also had two RBIs in the inning with a run-scoring base hit and an RBI sac-fly that brought in Lily Baggot. In the third it was Baggot with an RBI-single pushing the score to 11-0.

The Cougars made short work of LAVC starter Isabel Ward (2-7) who lasted just 1 and 1/3 innings, allowing 10 runs on 11 hits and two walks in taking the loss.

Canyons also swiped six bases in the game but had two runners cut down.

Top Performers

– Lily Baggot — 2-for-3, R, RBI

– Ashlynn Heck — 2-for-3, BB, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB

– Allyson Melgar— W (4-2), 5 IP, 5 K, No Hitter / 2-for-3, R, RBI

– Memorie Muñoz — 1-for-3, R, 2 RBI, SB

– Schayln Rhambo — 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB

Upcoming Schedule

Canyons will have a week off before hitting the road to face Bakersfield College on Tuesday, Feb. 28. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

The Cougars begin the new month with a home game vs. Glendale College at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, March 2. That game will be broadcast to fans free of charge on the Cougars Sports Network.

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.