Canyons Rolls Past Mission With an 18-Hit Attack, 9-0

College of the Canyons, using the combined two-hit pitching from Darrin Beer, Chris Zavatsky and Charlie Perrault and an 18-hit attack, routed Mission, 9-0, Thursday at Valley College.

The Cougars, ranked No. 1 in the Southland Poll by sports information directors, are 9-1 in the Mountain Valley Conference and 24-4 overall. With 10 games left on its conference schedule, Canyons can win 30 games for the fifth time since 1980. The Cougars lead second-place Valley by 2 1/2 games.

Mission, meanwhile, fell to 2-11 in the conference and 3-11-1 overall.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Canyons went ahead, 2-0, in the second on a line-drive home run into the wind by Frank Halcovich. The homer was Halcovich’s first of the season and the team’s 45th. Halcovich, who was in a self-described batting slump (.284), was 3 for 5.

Canyons scored three in the fourth on hits by Halcovich, Bob Clark and Alex Vasquez.

The Cougars scored four more in the sixth, one coming off an RBI single by first baseman Scott Drury and another off a triple by Chris Cota. Drury had three hits, two RBIs and a stolen base.

CANYONS--Beer, Zavatsky (7), Perrault (9) and Kuld.

MISSION--White, Penalber (6) and Rocco.

WP--Beer (8-0); LP--White (0-1).