Owls Swoop Down on Ranked Pirates

Citrus College took on its second ranked opponent in a week and grabbed a 5-4 victory over No. 10-ranked Orange Coast College Thursday afternoon.

The Owls improve to 7-4 overall, while the Pirates slip to 4-2.

OCC out-hit Citrus 9-to-6 but the visitors were able to send their runners home to secure the victory.

After a scoreless first three innings, the Owls put two runs on the board in the top of the fourth. With two runners on, Desiree Loza doubled to right center, sending both runners home to put Citrus up 2-0.

The Pirates answered back with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but the Owls upped their lead in the fifth with two more runs after taking advantage of two Pirate errors. Rylee Praytor drove in the first run with a base hit to right field, before Samantha Meyndert sacrificed a fly ball to left, allowing Adri Bonilla to tag up at third and extend Citrus' lead to 4-1.  

Once again OCC responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning to stay within reach.

Praytor got her second RBI of the game in the top of the sixth as Jasani Zavalza tagged up on a fly ball, which proved to be the game-winning run as OCC scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Meyndert picked up the win in the circle, while Caitlin Kelley grabbed a save.

The Owls turn right around to host San Bernardino Valley College on Friday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.