No. 18 Citrus Rallies Past Chaffey, Shifts Focus to Conference Opener

No. 18 ranked Citrus College Softball picked up a 5-3 road win at Chaffey College on Tuesday, March 3. The victory improves the Owls to 12-6 overall, while the Panthers fall to 10-7.

Citrus struck first in the top of the third inning when Jaelynn Eaves delivered her 29th RBI of the season — the second-most in the state — with a single that drove in Alivia Martinez for a 1-0 lead. Chaffey responded with one run in the bottom of the third and another in the fourth to move ahead 2-1.

The Owls answered in a big way in the top of the sixth. Desteny Garcia tied the game with an RBI single to score Mia Godoy, and Brooke Whiteman followed by crushing her team-leading fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot, to give Citrus a 5-2 advantage. The Panthers added a run in the bottom half of the inning to cut it to 5-3, but Citrus' defense sealed the win in the seventh, turning a key double play to end Chaffey's comeback hopes.

Whiteman led the offense, finishing 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and three RBI. Garcia went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Eaves added an RBI of her own. Martinez and Aalijah Aranda each doubled, and Grace Twente contributed a hit and a stolen base.

In the circle, Brissa Ayon (W, 10-3) earned the complete-game victory, allowing three runs on nine hits over 7.0 innings. She did not issue a walk and struck out two, throwing 86 pitches against 30 batters faced.

Citrus opens conference play at home against College of the Canyons on Thursday, March 5 at 2 p.m., with thier sights set on repeating as Western State Conference South Division champion.