By Jesse Muñoz
COC Sports Information Director
Freshman Anais Perez pitched seven scoreless innings in leading College of the Canyons softball to 3-0 non-conference victory over No. 18 Long Beach City College at Whitten Field on Wednesday.
Canyons (12-10, 0-2) scored a pair of runs in the first to build an early 2-0 advantage then added an insurance score in the fifth. That would prove enough as Perez did her part in neutralizing the LBCC (13-7, 5-5) lineup.
Perez (7-7) scattered seven hits and issued just one walk while facing 27 batters. The win got the freshman right-hander back to .500 on the year and came one day after a rough outing in a run-shortened 10-0 loss at Antelope Valley College.
COC sophomore Krista Viereck helped bring in the two early runs with a sacrifice fly to deep right field in the first inning that scored Belinda Lujano. An error by the LBCC catcher during that sequence also allowed Jocelyn Jimenez to come in, putting COC ahead 2-0.
In the fifth it was Giselle Merida reaching on an outfield error that gave Jeniece Jimenez an opening to score COC’s third run.
The Vikings committed five errors in the game to aid the Cougars’ efforts. Long Beach entered the game with the fourth fewest errors in the state at 12.
Meanwhile, Canyons turned a crucial bases-loaded double play in the seventh to help preserve the victory. The double play was just the fourth turned by the Cougars this season.
Lujano and Jocelyn Jimenez both had two hits in the game. Jasmine Soriano walked twice and recorded a hit. The Cougars also stole three bases on the day.
LBCC began the week as the No. 18 ranked team in the state according to the California Community College Fast Pitch Coaches Association (3CFCA) rankings released on March 10. The Cougars are not currently ranked.
Canyons resumes Western State Conference (WSC), South Division play on Tuesday, with a road outing at L.A. Mission College (10-11, 1-0).
