A third of the way into the college baseball season, the Owls have fought back to raise their winning average to .500.
Since spring semester officially began Feb. 22, the team is 6-1, bringing their record on the season to 8-7-1.
Citrus head coach Steve Gomez shared his assessment on what the team has improved on and what still needs to be worked on, still early in the season.
“Pitching the last five games or so we have improved, the pitching needs to stay the same,” Gomez said. “Defense has not been as solid. We don’t see consistent bats, we need quality bats.”
Hitting has come in clutch situations, despite the team’s inconsistencies.
Freshman infielder Kristian Scott scored a walk-off hit against Pasadena City College at home Feb. 23 and broke open a stalemate where both teams’ scores mirrored each other inning to inning.
Freshman outfielder Benjamin Aguilera has hit five home runs, accounting for most of the team’s total of eight.
Two of these home runs have come in the past week in a home-and-away split against Moorpark College.
Aguilera leads the team with 16 RBIs, a .644 slugging percentage, and 14 strikeouts.
During their stretch, the Owls have scored 52 runs while only giving up 18.
The Owls have averaged slightly over 10 hits per game in their 6-1 stretch.
Their sole loss was reminiscent of the first few games of the season, where the Owls let their opponents back into the game in a close game down the stretch.
The loss came on the road at East Los Angeles College, losing 2-3 after a blown save in the ninth inning.
Citrus put together their best win of the season in a 13-2 victory against L.A. Mission College on March 7 at Citrus College.
Despite L.A. Mission coming in with an impressive 13-4 record, the Owls jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after two innings.
Scott hit his first home run of the season in the first inning.
In the fourth inning, Scott homered again, giving the Owls a 6-0 lead.
Scott finished 4-for-4, with three RBIs and two home runs.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Roberto Baldanebro (2-1) earned the win, with five innings pitched, four strikeouts and one earned run.
Citrus begins conference play when they travel to face Glendale College at 2 p.m. March 9.
The matchup will serve as a benchmark for how much better the Owls have improved with Glendale starting the season off with a 14-4 record before conference play starts.
The game will be a preview of a three-game series between the teams from March 21 to 25.
After the matchup with Glendale, the Owls will return home to face Antelope Valley College at 11 a.m. March 11.
