“You got this CK (Caitlin Kelley),” the starting Citrus Owls cheered for their pitcher.
Kelley took a deep breath to calm her nerves, wound up for the pitch, and struck the Orange Coast batter in the shin.
Citrus’ softball team lost a double-header against Orange Coast College on Jan. 31.
The first home game ended with a7-8 loss for Citrus and the second with a 7-11 loss.
Citrus started off strong in the first game with Madelyn Hajj hitting a solo home run and the only run in the first, but Citrus lost that momentum in the following innings
Hajj scored the most runs in the first game for the Owls, with a total of two.
Starting Pitcher Kelley was feeling the pressure during the game. All eyes were on the pitcher as she allowed six earned runs.
Not on her game today, Kelley was taken out in the top fourth after pitching a ball in the dirt and hitting three Orange Coast batters.
She was later put back in the second game top first, only to be taken out again and replaced by pitcher Camilia Abundis for the rest of the game after facing three batters and giving up two earned runs, a hit by pitch and grand slam.
No runs were scored by Orange Coast in the top eight of the first game and though Citrus also had no runs, they left bases loaded.
With a heater from Orange Coast’s Kelsey McNair, Citrus struggled to hit the ball.
In fact, two Citrus Owls, Hajj and Rylee Praytor, were hit by the pitch. Hajj was hit first, on her forearm, and Praytor second, right after her.
“I didn’t expect to get hit right after,” Praytor said. “I was just focused on hitting the ball.”
Coming off of a win, the momentum was with the Orange Coast team in the second game and they managed to score seven runs in the first inning, until Citrus defense cut them off and Citrus was up to bat.
Citrus Owl Alivia Martinez had the most runs in the second game, totaling two.
An unusual play happened in the bottom fourth of the second game, when Torres was up to bat and got out at first.
“The Orange Coast team forgot to sub in their pitcher, so I was allowed to go back to first and wasn’t out,” Torres said.
Torres took advantage of the mistake and scored a run for the Owls.
Owls Torres and Martin didn’t know how to stay put and took every chance they could to steal bases, succeeding everytime, sometimes cutting it a little too close.
Owl right fielder Bailey Aguilar took control of her position and caught all the fly balls, deep and short, into right field.
“I was on my game, I wasn’t stressed out or feeling pressured,” Aguilar said.
The next game for the Owls will be at Saddleback College at 2 p.m. on Feb. 5. More information on the Owl’s upcoming schedule can be found here.
