Canyons Loses Twice to Cuesta, Won’t Advance

A bunch of Cougars are headed for the junior college baseball state championships next weekend in Fresno, but for College of the Canyons they are not the right ones.

Canyons, needing only one victory to advance, was swept by Cuesta, 8-7 and 12-5, Sunday in a Southern California Regional at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.

The first game between the two Western State Conference divisional champions, both nicknamed Cougars, ended dramatically when Cuesta’s Vinnie Hernandez slugged a one-out, two-run home run to left-center field in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Brock Benson (4-3).

Canyons (35-15) had snapped a 5-5 tie in the top of the ninth on consecutive home runs by Rob Rehfeld and Kasey Canale.

In the second game, Cuesta (43-9) scored six runs in the top of the third and cruised the rest of the way. Reliever Nate Taylor (7-2) won both games, working 4 2/3 scoreless innings in the second game.

Cuesta had lost to Canyons, 8-5, on Saturday to drop into the losers’ bracket of the four-team double-elimination tournament.