Owls Route Oxnard in Season Opener

Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Baseball program's 2014 season got off to a raucous start on Tuesday afternoon, when the Owls routed visiting Oxnard College 12-4 in their season opener. Citrus collected 12 hits, earned six walks, and scored in all but three innings.

Sophomore Victor Garcia (1-0) got the call for the Owls to start the season. Garcia did a good job mixing up his pitches and keeping the Condor hitters off balance in his five innings of work. Garcia hit just a few bumps on the way, giving up a solo home run in the opening inning and then another run in the third. By that time though Citrus was comfortably ahead and later runs wouldn't even come into play.

Citrus got their scoring going right away in the bottom of the first inning when sophomore Michael Bradley drew a bases loaded walk. Sophomore Jonathon Reynoso then put the Owls up 2-1 when he pushed a single through the right side of the field.

The Owls kept it going into the second inning where they scored five more runs. Freshman Aaron Torres drew a bases loaded RBI walk, while freshman Troy Resch hit an RBI single to center field. Reynoso would come through again for the Owls shortly thereafter when he hit a bases loaded and clearing double to center field to make it 7-1 Citrus.

Citrus would score twice more with a pair of RBI doubles in the bottom of the fifth thanks to sophomore Matthew Reynoso and Torres. Torres notched another RBI in the bottom of the seventh with an infield single that scored freshman Brett Shewmaker. Freshmen Taylor Grace and Shewmaker rounded out the scoring in the bottom of the eighth, when Grace doubled down the right field line and Shewmaker hit a sacrifice fly to right that would score Grace.
 
In the win, Citrus was led by Johnathon Reynoso who was 2 for 4 with 4 RBI's, and Torres who was 2 for 2 with 3 RBI's, 2 runs scored, and 2 stolen bases. Freshman Nicholas Sergi and sophomore Jayson De La Pena combined to throw three innings of near perfect relief with the lone hiccup being a walk issued by Sergi.

With the win, Citrus improves to 1-0. The Owls will take tomorrow off, but will be back out on the diamond come Thursday when they travel to East Los Angeles College for a 2:00 PM first pitch.