Owls Overcome Early Deficit to Defeat Antelope Valley 8-7 in Series Opener

No. 13 ranked Citrus College defeated Antelope Valley 8-7 in today's three-game conference series opener at home on Tuesday, April 7.

The win gives the Owls a 1-0 series lead over the Marauders as Citrus improves to 22-10 overall and 9-4 in conference.

Antelope Valley jumped out to a 4-0 lead through the first two innings behind a trio of extra-base hits and a sacrifice fly. Citrus answered in the second when Cam Casado and Jackson Gray launched back-to-back home runs to cut the Marauders' lead in half at 4-2.

After Antelope Valley added to its lead in the third on a three-run home run to extend the advantage to 7-2, the Owls began their comeback. Derek Almeda sparked the rally with an RBI double to left center and later scored on a wild pitch to trim the margin to 7-4.

Citrus kept the pressure on in the fourth as Gray delivered his second home run of the game, and Julian Hines followed with an RBI single to bring the Owls within one at 7-6.

The Owls completed the comeback in the fifth inning when Casado crushed his second home run of the game, a two-run blast that scored Jordan Daniels and gave Citrus an 8-7 lead. The Owls held on from there to secure the win.

Citrus finished with 12 hits, led by Gray, who went 4-for-4 with two home runs—his first two-homer game of his Citrus career—and two RBIs, and Casado, who added two home runs, his second two-homer game of the season, and three RBIs. Hines contributed an RBI single, while Almeda finished with a double and an RBI.

Ryan Harrison (W, 3-0) earned the win in relief, allowing two runs on five hits over five innings while striking out nine. Gabe Buranasiri earned his fourth save with two scoreless innings to close it out.

Citrus' late-inning power surge proved to be the difference as the Owls battled back to secure the 8-7 win.

The Owls will travel to Antelope Valley College for game two on Thursday, April 9, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.