Owls Keep Pace With Sweep at Glendale

Glendale, CA -- The Citrus College Softball team kept pace in the Western State Conference Blue Division race with a crucial sweep at Glendale College on Tuesday afternoon. The Owls mercied the host Vaqueros in the first game 10-1, and then battled to a 4-3 win in game two.

Sophomore Sara Moore did what she does best, by terrorizing opposing pitchers and defenses in the top of the first inning, getting on via an Glendale error, and then scoring a few at bats later thanks to a passed ball. Glendale would answer with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but the Owls really got it going in the top of the second with two more scores, one from freshman Valerie Velasquez and the other from sophomore Alyssa Lozano.

Citrus added one more in the top of the third with an RBI single off the bat of freshman Miranda Gil, and then piled on with five scores in the top of the fourth. Moore, sophomore Victoria Baltazar, sophomore Arianna Sanchez, and Gil all recorded RBI's in the inning. The final cous de gras came in the top of the fifth when freshman Megan Troutman laced a single to left field, that the left fielder mishandled and ended up with Troutman scoring. Sanchez would earn the win in game number one, pitching a four hitter, and giving up just one run, and one walk.

Things didn't come as easily in game two, though it looked like it might early on. Citrus scored three runs in the top of the first inning, when freshman Erinn Jaramillo belted a three RBI home run to right-center field. Citrus would just score once more, in the top of the fourth thanks to another Glendale miscue.

Meanwhile, in the bottom half of innings, Glendale scored twice in the bottom of the first and once more in the bottom of the second to tie the game up at 3-3. That score by Lozano in the fourth would be the deciding run as Citrus went on to win by one.

With the pair of wins, Citrus improves to 24-13 on the year and 14-14 in conference play. With an Antelope Valley split yesterday, the Owls are now tied with the Marauders in second place, and both are a game back of College of the Canyons. Citrus has just three more games remaining on their 2014 schedule all at home, beginning with a tilt against LA Valley College on Thursday at 2:30 PM.