Glendora, CA (Baseball) -- The Citrus College baseball team gave up a season high 18 hits, and committed four errors in a disappointing 16-2 loss to LA Valley College on Thursday afternoon. Citrus did cull together 7 hits, but the deficit proved to be large in the loss.
After facing just four batters in the top of the first inning, Citrus looked as if they would be competitive in Thursday's match-up as they found themselves with bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the opening inning. From there things turned South however, as Citrus went down in order failing to drive in a single run.
With the offense struggling to drive runs in early on, the Citrus pitching proved solid for the first three innings, allowing a runner past second base just once over the first three frames. Things quickly went downhill in the top of the fourth however, as Valley's Brandon Ashford's grand slam with no outs gave the Monarchs an early 4-0 lead.
The bleeding didn't stop there however as Valley would score two more runs before Citrus' time would be up. Despite trailing by six runs, the deficit was still manageable, but the Owls hitting betrayed them as they went hitless through the first four innings. In the fifth Citrus finally mustered a hit, but the runner never passed first base.
In the top of the sixth, Valley began to add even more to their all ready impressive lead, dropping a five spot in the top of the inning. Trailing by double-digits, Citrus finally got on board in that same inning, but Damien Chavez's solo home-run and Sean Guest's RBI double wouldn't be enough to keep Citrus in contention.
In the loss the Owls were marred by key mistakes, as just four of the 16 total runs scored were earned. With the loss Citrus' record fell to 8-11 overall and 2-5 in WSC South play. The Fighting Owls will follow up today's loss with a trip to Valley on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM in Valley Glen, CA.
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