Former Irvine Valley standout catcher Cole Joy was off to a solid start for NCAA Division 1 Cal State when the season was cancelled in March due to the cornavirus pandemic.
The Dirtbags had a record of 10-5 overall and were ranked No. 17 in the nation.
Joy, a redshirt senior, had started in nine games and played in 11, and was batting .207 with three RBI. He had also helped the Long Beach State pitching staff to an impressive 2.38 ERA.
Joy played in 24 games during the 2019 campaign as a junior and made 16 starts. He started 15 games behind the plate and one as a DH. Joy had 10 hits, including a double and a home run and also drove in eight runs. He launched his homer, a solo shot, at Ole Miss. He was instrumental in Long Beach State's win at San Diego with two hits and two RBI.
Joy used his redshirt year in 2018 after suffering an injury.
Joy had an impressive sophomore sesaon at Irvine Valley in 2017 before signing with Long Beach State.
He was named first team all-Orange Empire Conference after hitting a team-best .368 on the year and finishing with 53 hits, 25 runs scored, three home runs, one triple, four doubles and 21 RBI.
Joy was second on the team in hits and runs, tied for the team lead in home runs and finished tied for third in RBI. He also struck out just 12 times in 144 at bats.
Joy also led the team in on base percentage at .425 and in slugging percentage at .472.
He had 18 multi-hit games and three games with three hits.
Joy hit a team-best .384 in conference play with 28 hits, two home runs and 11 RBI. He also had a .444 on base percentage and .507 slugging percentage in conference.
Joy, who played at Mission Viejo High before joining the Lasers, helped IVC finish with a record of 19-24 overall and 6-15 in the tough Orange Empire Conference in 2017.
Irvine Valley still made the playoffs and won its first game, beating Chaffey, 11-2, on the road.
