All Aboard the Chua Chua Train
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Antelope Valley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 3 |
|
Citrus | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | X | 14 | 13 | 1 |
Glendora, CA - Citrus College sophomore right fielder Joshua Chua had the game of his life on Tuesday afternoon when they Owls hosted Antelope Valley College in WSC South action. The Owls climbed all aboard as he went 3 for 4 with four runs, seven RBIs, hitting two home runs and a double in Citrus' 14-7 victory over the Marauders.
Despite the final score, it was Antelope who made hay early on, tagging freshman starting pitcher Roberto Baldanebro for a pair of runs in the top of the first. It would take until the bottom of the second inning for Citrus to respond, when freshman Marcos Campos hit an infield single that scored freshman Francisco Ramirez and also freshman Kyosuke Ushimaru after the short stop threw away the ball trying in vain to throw out Campos. One at bat later, sophomore Rudy Casarez III put Citrus up 3-2 with a single back up the middle of the field that brought in Chua.
Citrus would keep things going in the bottom of the third, loading the bases up with one out. That when Chua stepped to the plate and belted the first of two home runs, a shot to left-center field just over the 380 mark making it 7-2. Antelope would try to work their way back into the game in the top of the fifth with a run that cut their deficit to four, but an RBI double by Chua, plus a squeeze sacrifice by freshman Hiroshi Ishiwatari helped push the lead to 10-3, when Chua scored after a double steal attempt.
The Marauders would add to more runs in the sixth, but the Owls put the game away for good in the bottom of the seventh. Ushimaru led the inning off with an RBI single, and then Chua hit his second home run of the game, a moon shot to left field that made it 13-5. Antelope would score two more runs in the top of the eighth, before the Owls' final run of the game came when freshman Jacob Gafford scored on a wild pitch from third, after stealing both second and third bases.
With the win, Citrus improves to 9-7-1 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Owls will travel to Lancaster on Thursday for the second of three games with the Marauders this week. First pitch is set for 2:30 PM.