The Good and the Bad

Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Softball team played host to a pair of state ranked schools on Friday evening in a CCCAA triangular. The Owls featured the good and the bad, falling to State #3 Palomar College 8-4 in the opener, before rallying later in the day with a 13-5 win over State #13 Santa Ana College.

Things got off on the wrong foot for Citrus in that game against Palomar. The Owls committed four errors in the first inning, and staked the Comets to a 6-0 lead in that first frame. Citrus would answer back with a run in the bottom half of the first when freshman Kaitlyn Garza scored via a passed ball.

Palomar added another run in the top of the third, a score that Citrus came back with in the bottom half of the inning when sophomore Megan Troutman's ground out to first scored Garza again.

The Owls would continue to try to work their way back into the game, scoring two more in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a two RBI home run to left field off the bat of sophomore Erinn Jaramillo to make it 7-4. Palomar got an insurance run in the top of the sixth and shut the Owls offense out the final two innings, to force the Owls into an 8-4 loss.

Jaramillo had a big game at the plate going 3 for 3, while Garza scored 3 of the 4 runs for the Owls. In the circle, freshman Anissa Gallegos got saddled with the loss, but of the eight runs she gave up only three were earned.

Later in the day, Citrus took on the Dons, and this time things were different. Citrus was flawless in the field and used a pair of big innings to pick up their first win of 2015.

Santa Ana scored first on the day, scoring a pair of runs thanks to aggressive base running in the top of the first. The Owls would slow them down though in the top of the second and then take the lead with a five run bottom of the second.

In the inning, sophomore Valerie Velasquez got the scoring going with a two run home run she crushed over the left field fence. Garza would drive in the next run when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, while freshman Autumn Batrholomy helped her own cause with a two RBI single down the right field line that made it 5-2.

The Dons would come back in the very next inning and cut the Owls lead to one with a pair of solo jacks in the top of the third. Citrus once again came back in the bottom half and gave themselves some breathing room thanks to a double through the left side of the field by sophomore Kiana "Kalei" Guillermo that drove in Velasquez and made it 6-4.

Citrus added another run in the bottom of the fourth when freshman Jessica Brown laced a triple that scored Jaramillo. Santa Ana would come back with a run in the top of the fifth to make it 7-5, but the Owls roared back with six runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game in just five innings.

In the win, Guillermo had the hot bat going 2 for 2 with two runs and two RBI's. Velasquez was 2 for 4 with two scores and a trio of RBI's, while Bartholomy got the win in the circle.

With the win and the loss, Citrus moves to 1-1 on the season. The Owls will be back at home on Thursday when they host another triangular with Cypress College and Victor Valley College. The Owls are scheduled to take on the Chargers at 2:30 PM and the Rams at the conclusion of the Cypress and Victor Valley contest at approximately 7:00 PM.