Complete Southern California Bracket
Complete Northern California Bracket

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The 2009 Co-Champion Western State Conference, Blue Division, College of the Canyons (27-14) softball team earned a No. 9 seed in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional Playoffs. The Cougars will travel to No. 8 Saddleback College (27-12) on Saturday, May 2 for the two-day, best-of-three series.

This will be head coach John Wissmath’s first appearance in the playoffs in only his second year with COC. COC played 14 games against Southern California playoff teams and were 8-6 this season against those squads, including two wins against top-ranked Cypress College. 

COC was the highest seed of any Western State team, which included three other teams – L.A. Mission (29-2) earned a No. 11 seed, Moorpark (31-12) earned a 13 seed and Ventura (25-18) earned a No. 15 seed.

After an absence in the playoffs in 2008, COC earned its eighth conference championship following a very tight race with L.A. Mission College. Freshman pitcher Ashley Imperial handled the pitching duties for COC, going 15-4 with a 1.65 ERA. She struck out 76 batters and gave up 47 runs in 152 innings of work. Offensively, sophomore Lauren Rose helped the Cougars get by many opponents with her .389 batting average. She also led the team in hits (56), doubles (14), triples (6) and RBIs (31).

Saddleback College, a member of the Orange Empire Conference, was the fourth team in the conference to make it to the playoffs. The Gauchos finished the regular season in fourth place with a 12-9 conference record and 27-12 overall record. Saddleback’s Lauren Molina is not only an ace on the mound, but leads the Gauchos with a .424 batting average and a 1.84 ERA.

The winner of the best-of-three series will move into the second round and be reseeded depending on which teams are still playing.

COC will play its first game against Saddleback at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. The second game will be played on Sunday, May 3 at 2 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. game if necessary.