BASEBALL: Owls Down Marauders in WSC Opener

Citrus College opened Western State Conference – South action with a 6-3 victory over Antelope Valley College Tuesday afternoon.

The Fighting Owls improve to 7-10 on the year and open conference action at 1-0. The Marauders drop to 10-4 overall, 0-1 in the WSC.

Citrus came up big at the plate, finishing with 11 hits in the game. Joshua Guzman had a strong showing, going 3-for-5 with two RBI, while Kanta Kobayashi went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Alejandro Loera also had multiple hits on the day, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Anthony Mico went 1-for-3 with two walks and three runs.

After taking AVC down in order in the top of the second, the Owls capitalized offensively in the bottom half of the inning. With one out, Loera singled through the right side and Mico joined him on base with a base hit to shallow right. The pair advanced on a wild pitch and both came home on a Kobayashi double, 2-0.

The Marauders evened the score in the fourth, but the Owls responded in the bottom half of the frame to take back their lead. With one out and Mico on third, Guzman found a gap on the left side to send Mico home, 3-2.

Citrus got some insurance in the fifth, plating two runs on two hits and an error. Andrew Duran drew ball four and made his way to third before coming home on a wild pitch, 4-2. AVC found two outs, but the Owls had two runners in scoring position at second and third. Kobayashi drilled a hard to handle ball to shortstop and Tyler Kretschmar came home to increase Citrus' lead to 5-2.

In the bottom of the seventh, Guzman picked up another RBI, sending Mico home from second with no outs.

The Marauders tried to rally late in the game, even plating another run in the eighth, but the Owls wouldn't let the visitors any closer.

Samuel Gomez threw seven solid innings on the mound, striking out 13 batters and allowing just one earned run. Enrique Zaldivar came in on relief and threw dimes for the Owls, striking out three batters of his own in two innings of action. Zaldivar threw just 19 total pitches, with just three off target.

The Owls and Marauders square off again on Thursday at AVC, with first pitch slated for 2:00 p.m. The three-game series ends back at Citrus on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.