Glendora, CA - A four-run fifth inning devastated the Citrus baseball team on Thursday afternoon as the fell into a second-place tie in the Western State Conference after a 7-4 loss to College of the Canyons.
Canyons got a sacrifice fly in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, but the Fighting Owls came back with three runs in the bottom of the third on a bases-clearing double by Courtney Montgomery. That would be the end of the offense for Citrus.
The Cougars scored one in the fourth and then tagged starting pitcher Luis Hernandez (2-4) for four runs in the fifth to take the lead for good. Grant Tripp threw the final four innings for Citrus, allowing just one unearned run on four hits.
Citrus (13-13, 7-4) had a 2-for-3 day from Matt Ross and a 2-for-4 performance from Eddie Crespo, but the 22-game hitting streak of Justin Fellhauer came to a close after an 0-for-4 afternoon.
For Canyons (13-13, 7-4 WSC) Steve Pujol got the win, allowing just two hits over the final five innings while striking out four batters. Four players had two hits apiece for the Cougars, led by Brian Chavez, who was 2-for-4 with two runs, a double and two RBI.
The Owls will be back in action on Saturday as they travel for a rematch with Canyons in the back end of the home-and-home series. The teams will take the field with identical records in what amounts to a very important swing-game in the conference season.