Owls Fall Short in Opener

Citrus College gave up five runs in the first two innings of play on Friday afternoon in the first game of their best 2-of-3 series with #6 Long Beach City College in the opening round of the 2024 3C2A Southern California Playoffs. 

The Owls only managed four hits from four different batters. Leah Morales went 1-for-2 with an RBI, Kylie Ruiz went 1-for-2 and scored a run, Caitlin Kelley and Desiree Loza both added a hit.

Things didn't go well early for the Owls, as they had back-to-back 1-2-3 innings offensively. In that same time, the Vikings managed to add a run in the first inning and another four runs in the second inning to take a commanding 5-0 lead early.

In the third, the Owls would get their first hit of the game when Caitlin Kelley singled to left center and fired up her teammates after successfully reaching first base. A batter later, Kaliah Lopez would be called upon to pinch run for Kelley, and Kylie Ruiz would draw a walk, giving the Owls a runner in scoring position for the first time in the game. Lopez would then steal third, and Ruiz would advance to second before Leah Morales singled to left field and advanced to second on an error, scoring Lopez, giving the Owls their first run of the day. With two runners on, Rylee Praytor would trade an out for an RBI, scoring Ruiz. The Owls would end the inning trailing the Vikings 5-2.

After a scoreless inning for both teams, the Vikings would add another run in the fifth and sixth innings. The Owls would only manage two more hits on the day that resulted in zero runs, suffering an opening 7-2 loss to the Vikings.

The Owls will be back in action tomorrow in a must-win game to extend the series to a third game. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m., and the third game of the series, if necessary, is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.