Owls' Comeback Effort Comes Up Short in 9-8 Extra-Inning Loss

No. 18 ranked Citrus College suffered a narrow 9-8 extra-inning loss at Los Angeles Mission College on Tuesday, April 14. The conference setback moves the Owls to 26-12 overall and 7-4 in conference play.

Citrus rallied from an early four-run deficit and took its first lead in the eighth inning, but was unable to hold on as the game ended on a walk-off in the bottom half.

After trailing 4-0 through two innings, the Owls responded with a four-run third. Jaelynn Eaves and Jocelyn Escobedo each delivered two-run singles to tie the game at 4-4 and swing momentum back to Citrus.

Mission regained the lead in the fourth, but Citrus continued to show resilience. Anaya Burley scored in the sixth to cut the deficit to one, and Mia Godoy tied it in the seventh with an RBI single that brought home Alivia Martinez.

The Owls broke through in the eighth when Martinez tripled to drive in Brooke Whiteman, giving Citrus its first lead of the day. Grace Twente followed with an RBI single to extend the advantage to 8-6.

Mission answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, using a two-out rally to tie the game before delivering the walk-off hit.

Citrus totaled 17 hits in the loss, with contributions throughout the lineup. Martinez led the way, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored, an RBI and a triple—her seventh of the season, second-most in the conference. Eaves finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored, adding to her state-leading 71 RBIs. Miranda McKiernan went 3-for-4, while Godoy and Escobedo each recorded two hits and drove in runs, with Escobedo totaling two RBIs. Aalijah Aranda added a 2-for-3 effort with a walk and a run scored, Twente drove in a run, and Whiteman scored twice.

Brissa Ayon (21-9) took the loss in the circle, allowing nine runs on 18 hits over 7 1/3 innings with one walk.

Citrus will play its final regular-season conference road game Thursday, April 16 at Antelope Valley College at 2 p.m.