Glendora, CA (Baseball) -- When it comes to clutch hitting there may be no better team in Southern California than the 13th ranked Fighting Owls. This year alone, four of their 15 wins have come in the final two innings.
Too boot, Citrus is cashing in on their runs when it matters the most batting a blistering .343 when runners are on third base and .590 when they find themselves in that situation and less than two outs on the board.
Thursday’s match-up with #15 Bakersfield was no different for Citrus as the Fighting Owls used four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 8-7 win over the visiting Renegades.
Things started off ok for Citrus as they cashed in on a Bakersfield error to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, but after that Citrus struggled recording just two hits in the next four innings.
After the Fighting Owls took an unearned run in the first, Bakersfield returned the favor in the third to tie the game up at 1-1. Three innings later, Bakersfield would be at it again grabbing two more (this time both earned) thanks to a two RBI double off the bat of Imaad Nurridin.
Citrus would come back in the bottom of the sixth with two more of their own, getting their two runs thanks to a Jack Schellin sacrifice fly and Adrian Cota RBI single.
In the seventh the wheels would fall off for the Fighting Owls as they allowed four earned runs and Bakersfield to take a seemingly commanding 7-3 lead. Citrus would come back with an unearned run in the bottom of that inning, but went into the eighth still chasing three runs.
Needing a monster rally, Citrus got just that. Schellin would lead things off with a single to right field, while Cota would follow with a walk. Lead-off batter Jacob Ludvik added another single, and with the bases loaded up came Mark Reynoso, who was a defensive replacement in the seventh inning.
Reynoso laced a single to right field scoring Schellin and getting the Fighting Owls back on the board. With the bases still juiced and no outs, sophomore Julio Raymundo came to the plate. Raymundo is hitting .727 with runners on third base and less than two outs, the right man at the right time.
Raymundo did what he usually does and roped a deep single to center field scoring Cota and Ludvik tying the game up at 7-7. Two batters later, Joseph Garcia would drive in the winning run with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Reynoso for the final run of the game.
Sophomore Stephen Chakerian would pick up his third win of the season. Chakerian pitched two solid innings, striking out three batters, surrendering no hits, and retiring the side in the eighth and ninth innings.
With the win, Citrus improves to 15-6 overall and 9-4 in WSC South Division play, while Bakersfield falls to 8-14 overall and 6-7 in conference play. The Fighting Owls will finish the third game of their current five game home stand on Saturday when they host Bakersfield yet again. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM.
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