Reynoso Walks-Off Owls In Season Closing Game

Glendora, CA -- The 2014 Citrus College Baseball season may have ended a couple of weeks earlier then they may have liked, but it certainly didn't end in boring fashion. Sophomore Jonathon Reynoso closed out a stellar two-year career with the Owls with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, as Citrus sent conference champs LA Mission College home packing with a 4-3 loss.

It took a little bit for Citrus' offense to get rolling on Friday afternoon, and it was the pitching that kept them in it. Freshman Steve Mendoza took the first three innings of the contest, giving up just two hits, and one run while striking out one. Sophomore Dani Schlarmann II took over for the next three innings and did enough to keep Citrus in it. Schlarmann allowed just three hits, walked two, but struck out three and gave up an unearned run.

Through the first six innings, Citrus was getting enough on the hill. Despite that, the Owls fell in an early 1-0 hole after the third. Citrus tied it up in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to an error by the Eagles that allowed freshman Brendan Campbell to score. Mission went right back on top, in the top of the sixth, but Citrus matched it right back in the bottom half of the inning with a sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of sophomore Michael Bradley.

The Owls would briefly take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh, when Reynoso drew a bases loaded RBI walk. LA Mission came right back though in the top of the eighth to knot the game back up at three runs apiece. Campbell doubled down the left field line with one out in the bottom of the eighth, but was left there. In the top of the ninth, Mission threatened with runners on first and second and two outs, but sophomore Jayson De La Pena got the final out to keep the game all tied up.

It all came down to the final half of the last inning. Torres led the inning off by working the count full and then drawing a walk. Torres then stole second, and after a fly out to center field, freshman Taylor Grace drew a four pitch walk. That brought Reynoso to the plate where he flicked a 0-1 pitch down the left field line, driving in Torres for the winning run.

With the win, Citrus' season ends with a 20-16 record overall and 13-8 mark in WSC South play. The Owls finished fourth in conference, in what turned out to be one of the closest races to the end.