By Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information

College of the Canyons had three Women’s Softball players spotlighted by the California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association with Ashlynn Heck, Allyson Melgar and Lisa Motz selected to the All-Southern California Team.

Heck (outfield), Melgar (pitcher/utility) and Motz (catcher) were among 15 athletes named to the All-Southern California team. Included in that number were seven selections from the Western State Conference.

A full list of All-Southern California honorees can be found here.

Heck, the Cougars’ center fielder, led her team in a number of offensive feats this season. In her 42 games, Heck finished the season with the team’s highest batting average (.434) and slugging percentage (.727). Along with a team-high of 10 triples, she found her way around the bases a respective 45 times and brought home 39 RBIs, both the highest on the team. Her assertive baserunning claimed 14 stolen bases for the Cougars, the second highest on the team.

Melgar exhibited a versatile performance not only from the circle, but from an offensive position as well. She finished the season with the second highest batting average (.426), on-base percentage (.460) and slugging percentage (.659) on her team. Bringing in 35 RBIs and 23 runs, Melgar led Canyons with 15 doubles and five home runs on the season. The freshman also led COC from the circle and finished the season with a 2.85 ERA, producing one save and issuing 87 strikeouts across 135 innings of work. In her 17 starts she notched 15 complete games and her 13 wins ranked third in the WSC, with only five losses.

Heck and Melgar were both named to the 2022 National Fastpitch Coaches Association California JC All-American Team earlier this month.

Motz was instrumental in the Cougars success both defensively and offensively. Her aggressive baserunning resulted in a team-high of 16 stolen bases. In her 42 games, she finished the season with a .401 batting average, .635 slugging percentage and led the club in on-base percentage at .461. She had a total of 36 runs, 24 RBIs, eight doubles and six triples on the season.

Motz, Melgar and Heck were each named All-WSC, East Division First-Team selections at the conclusion of the regular season.

Canyons concluded the 2022 season in the opening round of the California Community College Athletic Association SoCal Regional Playoffs after dropping its three-game series to No. 7 Santiago Canyon. The Cougars finished the year with an overall record of 25-17-1 and were 8-4 in conference play to finish second in the Western State, East Division.

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 or visit COC Athletics.