Glendora, CA (Softball) – After clinching the Western States Conference Championship this past weekend, all that was left for the Lady Owls to do was to finish out their regular season schedule and pick up some momentum for the SoCal playoffs. The Lady Owls had a let-down this afternoon however, as they ran into a very tough Canyons team. Corinne Milligan, who was looking to tie the school record for wins in a season, was stopped short in the 8-1 loss as she picked up her first loss in 9 starts. Her last loss ironically was to this same Canyons team.
The Lady Owls kicked things off on the right foot getting on the scoreboard first in the 2nd inning. Jessica Alvarez started things off with a single to left-field, and was sacrificed bunted over to second base by Melanie Hansen. Ashlie Paredez followed that up with a single to centerfield that put runners on the corner, and wiith one out Leticia Avalos picked up Citrus’ lone RBI of the day with a sac fly to center field, scoring Alvarez.
With a 1-0 lead, Corinne Milligan went to work in the 3rd. Milligan was quickly shook up however as she gave a lead-off home-run to Elyce McKenna. With the game tied, Milligan set down the 3 of the next 4 batters, and went to the bottom of the third.
The Lady Owls would threaten in the bottom of the third, but would come up dry. Jasmine Felix led off with a single to right field, while Caitlin Tolan got on 1st after a fielder’s choice. Denise Hernandez would line out to the first baseman, before Milligan would load up the bases with only one out. Canyons pitcher, Sarah Hopper, then proceeded to get herself out of the jam, by striking out Citrus’ clean-up hitters, Alvarez and Hansen.
Milligan would struggle again in the 4th and 5th giving up 6 runs (3 earned) over her final inning and a third of work. Milligan would move to right field, while Alvarez went to the circle to finish out the game for Citrus in the 5th inning. After one more run scored in the top of the 5th, Alvarez would get out of the inning, with Citrus trailing 7-1.
The Lady Owls would have scoring chances in the 6th and 7th innings, but failed to make anything happen as they went 2-13 with runners in scoring position, while leaving 8 runners on base.
Before everything was said and done Canyons would score again in the top of the 7th, giving the Lady Owls their worst loss of the season. It was the Lady Owls first loss in 10 games, and was only the second time this season, that Milligan has given up more than 3 earned runs.
With the loss Citrus’ regular season record falls to 35-10 and 21-4 in WSC play while Milligan’s record drops to 25-7. While the Lady Owls end their regular season on a down note, they still have the playoffs to look forward to as they are guaranteed a spot with their first ever WSC Championship. Playoff seeding will be announced on Friday April 27th. Stay tuned to the Citrus College web-site for more information regarding the SoCal Playoffs.
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