Cerina Martinez catches a popup in left field. Image: Treyvon Watts-Hale
Cerina Martinez catches a popup in left field. Image: Treyvon Watts-Hale

March Ends With Mixed Bag For Softball

The month of March ended with a busy week for Citrus Softball. The Owls played a 5 game stretch that started on Tuesday with a 5-4 home win over LA Valley and an ended with an 0-2 day at Cypress College in matchups against Mt. San Antonio and Cypress. In between, the Owls suffered a 4-5 loss to Canyons on the road Thursday, and turned it around Friday in a home mercy rule win over East Los Angeles. 

Tuesday's win over LA Valley was a last minute thriller that ended in the bottom of the 7th on a walk off single by Emily Paredez. The conference win served as redemption for the Owls, having lost to the Monarchs 5-6 in the WSC East Conference opener back in February. 

Becky Winder pickup up her 7th win of 2019 after pitching 2.2 scoreless innings for Citrus. 

In the road loss at Canyons on Thursday, Citrus produced runs, but couldn't  equalize the score despite a solid 3rd inning rally that scored 3 runs and put the Owls one run behind. Canyons would hold on to snag the win. Paredez and Megan Jones both went 3 for 4 on the day, with Jones knocking in 2 runs. 

Friday's win over visiting East Los Angeles ended in style for Citrus, with the Owls dominating the game and forcing the mercy rule after 6 innings played. Citrus beat the Huskies 8-0, posting their 5th mercy rule win of the year. 

Emily Paredez recorded her first win from the circle in 2019, posting a shutout win after facing 23 batters. Alexis Acosta had a solid day at the plate, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and 3 runs. Megan Jones notched a pair of doubles on the day and Paredez and Winder both drove in 2 runs. 

Saturday's outing to Cypress started with a 1-2 loss to Mt. San Antonio. The Owls struggled to get things going at the plate, charting only 3 base hits and striking out 11 times. Despite holding off the Mounties for 7 scoreless innings and going up 1-0 in the top of the 8th, the Owls would watch the win slip away, giving up a run in the bottom of the 8th and allowing the winning run in the bottom off the 9th. 

Citrus tried to regroup for the game against Cypress, but the Chargers were too hot to handle, thumping the visitors 9-1 in a 6th inning mercy rule win. Citrus once again struggled at the plate, hitting just .217 as a group to the Charger's .393. 

The Owls end the month of March with an overall record of 14-15 and a conference mark of 5-4. Citrus currently occupies the #4 spot in the heavily populated WSC East. With 11 games left in the season, the Owls will need to keep putting checkmarks in the win column as they pursue a playoff berth. 

Citrus takes the field next on Tuesday when they travel to Allan Hancock for a non conference game. 

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