No. 18 Canyons Comes Back to Split vs. Santa Barbara City

College of the Canyons softball pitcher Anais Perez throws a pitch during the Cougars' game vs. Santa Barbara City College on. Feb. 10, 2026.
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February 12, 2026

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director  

No. 18 College of the Canyons bounced back in the second game of its home doubleheader, defeating Santa Barbara City College 4-3 to salvage a split.

Canyons (8-2) had its five-game win streak halted with a 9-1 loss in the opener. 

SBCC (2-7) manufactured an unearned run off COC starter Akane Gonzalez in the first but did the bulk of its damage in the late innings.

Alexa Miranda's solo home run to left field tied the game at 1-1 in the second but proved to be the Cougars' only offensive highlight of the game.

Gonzalez (2-5) left the contest in the third inning trailing 2-1 and eventually suffered the loss. She allowed just two runs, one earned, on four hits including a solo home run.

Santa Barbara hurler Sammi Korte (2-1) managed to keep the Cougars' lineup off balance for the duration, allowing just four hits with three strikeouts and a walk. She faced 27 batters in going the full seven innings.

The Vaqueros scored three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings off COC freshman Anais Perez to end the game.

Perez led the bounce-back-effort in game two, however, turning the table by pitching the full seven innings and earning the win. Perez (3-0) limited SBCC to three runs, two earned, on just a pair of hits. She also walked three and struck out one.

Canyons trailed 3-0 after three innings but got on the board in the fourth after Miranda's RBI double. Later in the inning Giselle Merida's RBI groundout made it a 3-2 ballgame.

Belina Lujano tied the game at 3-3 when she doubled to bring in Krista Viereck in the bottom of the seventh. Lujano then came around to score on Jeniece Jimenez' walk-off RBI-single to end the game at 4-3.

COC began the week as the No. 18 ranked team in the state according to the California Community College FastPitch Coaches Association (3CFCA) poll released Feb. 10.

The Cougars return to play Thursday, Feb. 12, with a non-conference doubleheader vs. Ventura College (2-7).

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 X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo by Carla Sophia Velasco/COC Sports Information