Owls Close Strong For Win at Barstow
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Citrus | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 16 | 3 |
|
Barstow | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 2 |
Barstow, CA - The Citrus College Baseball team scored two runs in each of the final three innings on Thursday afternoon to nab a 11-9 win at host Barstow College.
Citrus put the first runs of the game on the board with two in the top of the first. Freshman Andre Flores and sophomore Kyosuke Ushimaru both lifted RBI single in the opening frame to give Citrus an early 2-0 lead. Barstow would match the two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but a two-run home run by freshman Benjamin Aguilera in the top of the third and a double-steal by Flores and Ushimaru that led to another run gave Citrus a 5-2 advantage.
The Owls would hang onto that lead until the bottom of the sixth, when the Vikings followed up a run in the fifth with a four-spot that made it 8-5. Citrus quickly had an answer via a two-run bomb by freshman Kristian Scott in the top of the seventh, a two-RBI single by freshman Donovyn Curiel in the top of the eighth, and RBI singles by Ushimaru and freshman Jordan Achay in the top of the ninth that made it 11-8 in favor of Citrus.
Citrus would end up needing every bit of that three run cushion as an Owl error helped lead to a pair of runs in the bottom in the bottom of the ninth for Barstow. After that though, freshman Daniel Guerrero settled back in and got the final out of the game via a groundout to second base.
Flores would finish a perfect 3-for-3 on the afternoon, while Scott, Ushimaru, and Achay all went 3-for-5. Freshman Matthew Rubalcalva-Sanchez picked up his first win of the year, pitching 1.2 innings, scattering three hits, no walks, and no runs in his time on the mound.
With the win, Citrus improves to 20-17-2 overall and 10-8-2 in WSC East play. The Owls will possibly close out their 2017 campaign on Friday afternoon when they host Barstow for the final of their four-game conference set at 2:30 PM. Citrus may be back out on the field on Saturday to finish their halted game against Glendale College from back on March 25th, but that is pending the outcome of the College of the Canyons and Glendale College finale.