College of the Canyons, winners of the 2017 Western State Conference East Division Championship, claimed the top awards in the Western State Conference East Division recently. Freshman outfielder Cole Klescz was named the Player of the Year, while sophomore right hander Justin Dehn was named the Pitcher of the Year. Rounding out the superlatives was head man Chris Cota who took home Coach of the Year honors.
Klescz finished the 2017 season fourth in the entire WSC in hitting (.410), third in in RBIs (46), first in home runs (18), fifth in on-base percentage (.495), and second in slugging (.847). In WSC East play alone, Klescz batted an impressive .472, with 22 RBIs, 11 home runs, and 12 doubles.
Dehn finished the year 9th in the entire WSC in ERA (2.79), 8th in wins (6), 7th in punch outs (72) and fourth in total innings pitched (87). Dehn made seven appearances in WSC East play, all in starts, going 5-0 with a complete game, a 1.89 ERA, and a 8.31 K's per game mark in 47.2 innings worth of work.
Cota meanwhile led the Cougars to the program's 14th overall WSC title, but first since the 2009 season. The Cougars finished the regular season 27-12 and 17-3 in WSC East play. Canyons was slotted as #3 overall seed in the 2017 CCCAA Southern California Baseball post-season.
