COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS NOTEBOOK: THIRD TIME AROUND COULD BE TOUGH FOR COC.

Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News

The Western State Conference South Division is the deepest it's been in years in terms of baseball talent, making College of the Canyons' pursuit of a third consecutive title a daunting task.

The Cougars took care of business in the first half of the season before a three-game losing streak - including their first two losses to L.A. Valley in four years - made Tuesday's game at Citrus a must-win for COC to remain in the hunt for the division crown.

Fortunately for the Cougars, they had ace Chris Palma on the mound, and he pitched seven strong innings before giving way to Max Hibbs en route to an 8-3 victory before Thursday's showdown with the Owls (15-11, 7-6) at home.

Palma, who entered the game fourth in the division with a 1.39 ERA, improved to 4-3 after surrendering a run each in the first, fifth and sixth innings. He received plenty of offensive support - Brian Chavez, Trevor Davidson, Nick Petrucci and Matt Reimers all doubled - to help COC (11-12, 7-6) pull even with Citrus.

Petrucci, who entered the week fourth in the division with a .400 average (30 for 75), 19 runs and 16 runs batted in, helped COC build a 5-2 advantage after five innings.

The victory became even more critical after Bakersfield (16-11, 9-4) defeated Mission 10-9 and L.A. Pierce (13-12, 8-5) won at Glendale 6-2. Following its sweep of the Cougars - 8-4 at home March 31 and 7-3 at COC on Saturday - L.A. Valley (13-12, 7-5) had the day off Tuesday.

--Right on track: In its 11th year as a track and field program, the College of the Canyons men's and women's teams have never won Western State Conference titles. The Cougars' best finishes were last season, when the women placed third and the men took fifth.

Judging by their performances at Friday's WSC meet at COC, the Cougars have now become legitimate contenders for both conference crowns.

The COC men won the four-team meet with 87 points, followed by Ventura (48), Citrus (34) and Glendale (5). The Cougars were also victorious on the women's side, scoring 68 points to beat Ventura (47), Citrus (26) and Glendale (8).

Highlights for the COC men included Ryan Davis' dominance in the throws, as he won the shot put (51 feet, 5 inches), the javelin (157-10) and the discus (142-5). Brian Belue was the only other double winner for the Cougars, taking the long jump (20-4) and triple jump (40-5).

Justin Tyron, a starting defensive back on COC's state championship football team, won the 400 meters in 49.8 seconds and placed second in the 200 in 21.8.

On the women's side, COC continued to excel in the sprints, as Danielle Stinnette clocked 12.3 in the 100, 26.0 in the 200 and 59.9 in the 400 to win all three events.

Linda Cohn had a winning effort of 105-4 in the javelin.

The Cougars return to competition Friday for the junior-college portion of the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut. Some COC athletes will also participate in the Azusa Pacific Invitational on Saturday in Glendora.

Those two meets will be the final tuneups for the Cougars before the conference prelims and finals. The WSC prelims are scheduled for April 16 at Moorpark College, with the finals being held the following week at Bakersfield College.

--Momentum stopped: COC's softball team controls its own destiny to win the WSC Blue Division. But the Cougars made the race a little tighter Tuesday following a 3-1 loss at Bakersfield.

COC (14-2 in division) had swept a doubleheader with the Renegades (22-8, 14-3) on March 10, winning 4-0 and 8-0.

The teams don't meet again during the regular season, leaving three teams - the other being L.A. Valley (19-6-1, 10-4) - in the hunt for the division crown.

Erik Boal, [phone]

erik.boal(at)dailynews.com