After Dropping Doubleheader, Owls Route Griffins 8-1

Citrus Softball had a busy couple of days as they travelled to Orange to play Santiago Canyon in a doubleheader yesterday and then hosted Grossmont today at home. The Owls dropped both games to Santiago even though Citrus played top notch softball, racking up 22 hits and 14 runs in the two losses. The Owls would recover quickly though, as they routed visiting Grossmont in commanding fashion.

In Friday's first game, the Owls hit .276 as a team, but left 8 runners on base and committed 3 errors, which would both come back to haunt the Owls as the game was decided by just 1 run, 10-11. Emily Paredez hit a pair of doubles for 4 RBI's and a run to lead the Citrus charge. Leticia Morales and Mia Escobar each had a pair of singles and scored 2 runs apiece. 

In the second game of the Santiago doubleheader, Citrus held onto a 3 run lead up to the 5th inning when the Hawks put together an 8 run rally. That would be enough to stifle the Owls and complete the doubleheader sweep. The Owls pieced together 9 hits on the game, but left 7 runners on base, and struggled to contain the offense of the home team from the mound. 

Saturday's home game against the Griffins of Grossmont would yield better results for the Fighting Owls, as solid pitching from Becky Winder, along with steady offensive production and stellar defense stumped Grossmont, holding them to just 4 hits. Shortstop Sofia Saucedo made perhaps the catch of the year as she came up with a snag on a line drive, diving parallel to the ground, landing hard and jumping up with her glove proudly held in the air. The dugout would erupt in celebration and the Citrus energy soared for the rest of the game. 

The Owls pieced together a whopper of a 5th inning, as they produced all 8 runs in that one inning. Freshman Catcher Brooke Fuss went yard again as Griffin pitcher Alex Penrose left one hanging over the plate in the 5th inning to start the Citrus rally. Eight more Owls would go on to smack base hits and their teammates sealed the deal with great hitting with runners in scoring position. Freshman Pitcher Becky Winder picked up her 1st win of her Citrus career and 2nd complete game as she held the Griffins to 4 hits, fanning 6 and allowing just 6 baserunners all day. 

Citrus improves to 2-4 on the season and will play next Wednesday at home against San Bernardino Valley. Game starts at 2:30 PM.