Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Softball team moved two steps forward towards claiming their second straight Western State Conference Blue Division Championship on Tuesday afternoon, but also took one step back. The Owls won the first game 9-1 in five innings, making it so that Citrus will share at least a part of the conference crown, but missed a chance to outright win the title itself with a 4-1 loss in game two.

Citrus opened up the afternoon with a run in each of its first two innings. Freshman Autumn Bartholomy singled through the left side of the field in the bottom of the first to plate freshman Stephanie Noriega, while freshman Jessica Brown doubled down the left field line to bring in sophomore Kiana "Kalei" Guillermo.

The Owls' bats would fall silent over the next two innings, while Glendale made it a one run game in the top of the third with a single score. The score would stay that way until the bottom of the fifth when the Owls exploded for seven runs.

Sophomore Megan Troutman got it going with a RBI double to center field. Freshman Kaitlyn Garza followed that up with a single to left. Sophomore Valerie Velasquez added to it all with a  ground-rule RBI double, backed up by a single to right field by sophomore Sandra "Gaby" Vera. Guillermo got in on the action with a RBI single back up the middle, before Noriega finished the inning off with a two-RBI triple to center field.

In the win, freshman Anissa Gallegos (21-4) was strong. Gallegos gave up just four total hits, no walks, and one run, while striking out three Vaquero batters.

Hoping to pick up where they left off, Citrus never really got off the ground in game two. Glendale right away put the Owls in a jam, loading the bases up with one out, but only getting a single score in the top of the first. Citrus would tie the game up in the bottom of the second via a solo home run to centerfield by Garza, but the Vaqueros quickly went back on top in the top of the third with another run.

Glendale added insurance scores in the top of the fifth and seventh innings, pounding out 13 hits in that final game. The Owls meanwhile had opportunities, but never cashed in on anything.

With the win and the loss, Citrus moves to 27-9 overall and 15-3 in WSC Blue play. The Owls will hit the road for their final three regular season games, starting on Thursday when they take on Los Angeles Valley College at the Sepulveda Basin Sports Complex in Van Nuys. First pitch is set for 2:30 PM.