Canyons Kills Citrus' Comeback

Citrus College dug deep to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth but couldn't complete the comeback victory as the College of the Canyons scored five runs in the 10^th to grab a 12-7 victory.

The Owls slip to 16-21 overall and 9-9 in Western State Conference action. The Cougars improve to 17-18 on the year and 10-8 in conference with the series victory.

Conner McKinney (3-for-4) and Jared Gener (3-for-5) led the Owls offensively.

Citrus got on the board first, scoring two runs in its first chance at the plate. With bases loaded and two outs, Robert Moreno drew a rogue pitch to advance each runner before Roman Robles walked in a second run.

The Owls tacked on three more runs in the second as Chad Green drilled a three-run homer with Devon Diaz and Gener on base, 5-0.

Canyons clawed its way into the game, however, plating four runs in the third and another in the fourth to tie the game. The Cougars then took the lead in the sixth, 6-5, but the Owls got it back in the bottom half of the inning.

With runners on the corners, Santiago Castro put down a sacrifice bunt to send Robert Valdivia home to even the game, 6-6.

The Cougars took the lead again in the seventh, however, and held the Owls scoreless at their next two chances at the plate.

In the bottom of the ninth and trailing by one run, Citrus put two runners on and Gener hit an infield single to score the tying run.

Canyons killed the comeback, however, getting out of the inning and scoring five runs in the 10^th to all but put the game away.

The Owls close out the season with LA Mission next week. The first of three games is scheduled for Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in Sylmar.