No. 4 Canyons Drops Doubleheader at Citrus College

GLENDORA, Calif. — The No. 4 ranked College of the Canyons softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader against No. 8 Citrus College on Tuesday afternoon, losing 7-5 in Game 1 and 5-3 in Game 2, missing a chance to overtake first place in the Western State Conference, Blue Division.

Both games saw the Cougars trail early, and have comeback attempts fall just short in the final at-bats.

In Game 1, the Cougars got off to a rough start, giving up five runs in the first inning including two home runs off COC starter Ashley Russo.

After the early onslaught, Russo settled down and completed the final five innings. In all, Russo pitched six innings, allowed 11 hits, seven runs – six of those were earned runs – and three walks

The Cougars needed a comeback to make a dent into the early 5-0 deficit and managed to put up some runs in the third and fourth innings.

In the third inning, COC shortstop Cheyenne Steward singled home Milana Casillas for the Cougars' first run of the game. Canyons still trailed 5-1, despite Steward's 29th RBI from the leadoff spot.

In the fourth inning Alija Ramirez singled to left field scoring right fielder Jennifer Metcalf to cut the Citrus College lead to 5-2. The next batter, Russo, helped her own effort in the circle by singling up the middle to score Erica Esparza. The Cougars trailed 5-3 after four innings.

Citrus would add two more runs in the fifth and the Cougars found themselves in a hole too deep to climb out of in this game. 

With one out, catcher Lauren Anderson did her best to give the Cougars a chance at a comeback with her two-run home run to center field scoring Metcalf who singled prior to Anderson's home run.

The shot off Anderson's bat represented the last runs the Cougars would score. Two quick outs ended the first game 7-5 with COC on the losing end.

Anderson's homer was her 10th of the season to go along with her 36 RBIs. She's also hitting at a torrid pace with a .535 batting average on the season putting her in third place in the conference. Her 10 dingers are good for second in the conference.

Game 2 was similar to first for Canyons, as the Cougars trailed by four runs entering the top of the fifth inning.

Again, Russo pitched strong six innings, but the Citrus lineup built an early lead that head coach Jon Wissmath's lineup could not overcome.

In the fifth, Kaitlyn Shreves lit up the Cougars end of the scoreboard, doubling home two runs, in the form of Steward and Casillas, to cut the Citrus lead to 4-2. 

Like the previous game, Citrus responded to a COC rally by adding to its lead, scoring a run in the following inning to make it 5-2.

The Cougars made a last gasp attempt at a comeback, but COC could only muster a run in the bottom of the seventh and the Cougars couldn't overcome a 5-3 score.

With the two losses, COC now sports a 22-7-1 overall record and drops to 10-5 in conference play. The Cougars currently sit in second place, three games behind the Citrus College Owls.

COC's next game sends them on the road to take on Bakersfield College at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9.