Citrus’ Fast Start Not Enough in 10-9 Loss

No. 14-ranked Citrus College Softball fell to No. 12-ranked Cerritos College in Friday's home game, Feb. 27, by a score of 10-9. The loss puts the Owls at 11-6 overall on the season, while Cerritos moves to 11-3.

The Owls jumped out to an early lead behind a fast start at the plate. Grace Twente tripled to right-center field to score Alivia Martinez for a 1-0 advantage, and Jaelynn Eaves followed with a groundout that brought Twente home from third to make it 2-0. Samantha Juarez broke the game open with a bases-loaded grand slam to left field — her second home run of the season — scoring Jocelyn Escobedo, Izzy Poveda and Mia Godoy to push the lead to 6-0. Citrus added two more runs in the second inning when Eaves produced another RBI groundout that scored Martinez, and Godoy lifted a sacrifice fly to right to bring in Twente, extending the lead to 8-0 after two innings.

The Falcons answered in the third with three runs to cut the deficit to 8-3, then added two more in the fourth to make it 8-5. Martinez later scored on a Cerritos error in the bottom of the fourth to give the Owls a 9-5 cushion, but that proved to be Citrus' final run. Cerritos rallied with five unanswered runs in the seventh inning to take a 10-9 lead, and the Owls were unable to respond in the bottom half.

Citrus totaled 10 hits and nine runs in a balanced offensive performance, powered by big extra-base hits and timely run production. Martinez led the table-setting effort, going 2 for 2 with three runs scored, two walks, a double and a stolen base. Twente added a strong 2-for-4 day that included a triple, two runs scored, one RBI and a steal. Juarez delivered the biggest swing of the game, finishing 2 for 3 with a double and a home run while driving in four runs. Godoy also recorded a multi-hit performance, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and a sacrifice fly. Citrus used three pitchers in the contest, combining for seven innings in the circle. Brissa Ayon handled the bulk of the workload, tossing 6.2 innings while allowing 13 hits and eight runs (five earned) with one walk and two strikeouts.

Up next, the Owls will travel to Chaffey College for a 2 p.m. matchup with the Panthers on Tuesday, March 3.