A Corker for Canyons

VALENCIA —  Jesse Daggett had a hunch.

“He kind of tried to jam me,” Daggett said. “I had a feeling he was going to try and do it because they did it all game.”

Daggett, the College of the Canyons catcher, was expecting an inside fastball from Bakersfield right-hander Aaron Warmerdam.

He got one and hit it over the left-center field fence leading off the bottom of the 10th to give the Cougars a 7-6 victory on Saturday in a Western State Conference game that decided the Southern Division championship.

“Once I hit it, I knew it was gone,” Daggett said. “It might have been the hardest ball I’ve hit all year.”

The Cougars (31-13, 18-8 in WSC play) claimed their second consecutive divisional title and Bakersfield (28-16, 17-9) had to settle for second place. Both teams advanced to the Southern California regional next weekend.

The Cougars, who have defeated Bakersfield at Canyons six straight times dating to 1994, nearly had the streak snapped and several bottles of sparkling cider left uncorked.

Bakersfield took advantage of three errors in the fourth to go ahead, 3-0.

Tim Hooper led off the inning and reached second on a two-base throwing error by shortstop Hiram Damwijk. Andy Diaz followed with a double to right field, scoring Hooper, and took third when Kris Yeaman dropped the ball while trying to make the throw.

Brandon Ritchey bounced to pitcher Jim McNeel, but the right-hander threw wide of third in trying to pick off Diaz, who had wandered down the line.

Diaz scored and Ritchey wound up at third base. He scored on Anthony Acevedo’s fly out to left field.

“You play defense like that, you shouldn’t win,” said Len Mohney, Canyons coach.

The Cougars pulled to within 3-1 in the fourth when Daggett grounded into a double play, scoring Kasey Canale.

Bakersfield went ahead, 5-1, with two more unearned runs in the fifth and added a run in the sixth on a two-out double by Brian Walker off McNeel and a single by Ray Castillo against reliever Wayne Mahaffey.

McNeel allowed eight hits and six runs--five unearned--in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three, walked one and got little defensive support from the Cougars, who committed six errors.

Bakersfield right-hander Jeremy Wedel cruised through six innings but was roughed up for five runs in the seventh, when Canyons pulled even, 6-6.

Luis Sanchez led off with a dribbler to third but Andy Diaz’s throw pulled Pat Cornejo off first base. The error opened the floodgates.

The big blow of the inning was a two-run double to left-center by Rob Rehfeld with one out that cut Bakersfield’s lead to 6-5. Rehfeld scored on Damwijk’s single to left.

“There’s not an error that’s harmless,” said Tim Painton, Bakersfield coach. “Good teams capitalize on mistakes.”

The Cougars bit the bullet in the ninth when Bakersfield loaded the bases with none out, but Brock Benson (3-2) retired Cornejo on a fly ball and Hooper on a pitcher-to-catcher-to-first double play.

An inning later, Daggett’s blast started a celebration, with the Cougars showering each other in sparkling cider.

Damwijk had three hits and Benson gave up two hits and one walk in two innings.

Walker had three hits and Diaz had three runs batted in for Bakersfield.

Wedel allowed seven hits and two walks, and struck out two over seven innings. Warmerdam (5-1) yielded two hits, struck out one and walked two in two innings.