Baseball Recap: Citrus Valley Now 6-2 over Last Eight Games

Yucaipa typically has all the answers at home, but on Thursday Citrus Valley proved too difficult a challenge. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Thunderbirds 14-12. That's the fourth time they've managed to beat them this season, with their most recent victory being a 3-2 win last Tuesday.

Jake Clark looked comfortable as he tossed 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Citrus Valley is 4-2 when Clark allows three or fewer earned runs, but 6-7 otherwise.

Nathan Castillo

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/10/25 @ Yucaipa	4
03/20/25 @ Yucaipa	2
02/28/25 @ Yorba Linda	2
04/03/24 vs Tustin	2
04/02/24 vs Trabuco Hills	2

At the plate, Nathan Castillo was incredible, going 3-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Cole West, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base.

Citrus Valley kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive contests.

Citrus Valley is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-9 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Yucaipa, their loss ended a seven-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 12-7.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Citrus Valley will face off against Redlands at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Yucaipa, they will challenge Beaumont at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The Cougars have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed nine runs per game on average), something the Thunderbirds will no doubt try to take advantage of.