Small-Arms Attack Wins for Canyons

As the sun seemed to duck in and out of rain clouds Saturday over Moorpark College, the state’s most touted junior college pitcher, Canyons’ Fred Riscen, won his first game of the season.

And Moorpark? Moorpark was just ducking.

With 16 hits, including four each by Vic Sotelo and Mark Gieseke, and Riscen in an apparent return to form, Canyons opened the Western State Conference season with an 8-4 victory, the Cougars perhaps serving notice that though they may not hit handfuls of home runs, they can make up for it with handfuls of singles and doubles.

In fact, Canyons got four straight hits in the first inning that led to three runs, almost all the Cougars would need to hold Moorpark at bay.

“We did outhit them,” Canyons Coach Len Mohney said, “but a lot of them were singles. We’re not going to hit a lot of home runs like we did last season.”

Last season, if the Cougars had totaled 16 hits, they might have scored 20 runs. The 1986 team hit a school-record 72 home runs. This season, Mohney said, Canyons (5-3, 1-0) will have to string hits together just to stay in games.

“Geez, 16 sixteen hits?” Moorpark Coach Ron Stillwell deadpanned. “That’s kind of impressive.”

The Cougars scored three times in the first inning on two doubles, two singles and a sacrifice fly.

They scored one in the third on two hits, three in the eighth on two hits, and two in the ninth on two hits. In the ninth, Gieseke singled and scored on a triple by Mike Bible, who scored on a sacrifice fly by designated-hitter Gary Ray.

Moorpark (5-7, 0-1), which scattered its nine hits off Riscen, scored single runs in the third, sixth, eighth and ninth innings. Riscen (1-2) struck out 11.