In his first collegiate game, Cerritos College starting pitcher Gilbert Romero (Alhambra HS) retired the first 15 batters he faced. But by the time the dust settled, the Falcons (1-1) had used four pitchers in their 4-3, 10-inning win over visiting Citrus College in their home opener. The team will travel to Glendale College on Thursday for a 2:00 p.m. non-conference game.

Trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, Cerritos was able to score a pair of runs off Owls (0-1-1) relief pitcher Matthew Rubalcava-Sanchez for a 2-1 lead. However, Citrus posted two runs of their own in the top of the ninth inning off a trio of pitchers. The Falcons extended the game on an RBI single from freshman catcher Adam Rubio (Montebello HS), while they won the game when freshman designated hitter Dominic Bravo (Warren HS) drove home sophomore second baseman Derrick Edwards (Mary Star of the Sea HS).

Romero had been cruising along until he allowed a lead-off walk in the sixth inning to Isaiah Montoya, which was followed by an erratic throw from Romero on a sacrifice bunt by Jordan Achay. An infield single on a bunt loaded the base, which set the table for a sacrifice fly by Marcos Campos for the game's first run.

Freshman third baseman Jorge Rodriguez (Bellflower HS) led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a double and scored on a single by freshman right fielder Rolando Nichols(Serra HS), with Nichols advancing to second base on an erratic throw. Rubio moved Nichols to third base with a sacrifice bunt, followed by an RBI pinch-single from freshman Christopher Gomez (South Torrance HS).

Campos led off the top of the ninth inning with a double, which was aided when freshman Matthew Hickman (La Mirada HS) left his feet to try and catch the ball. After two outs were recorded by freshman closer Micah Hee (Kamehameha, HI HS), he allowed a pinch-hit single to tie the game, while a passed ball and two wild pitches brought home the go-ahead run. Freshman Jakob Johnston (California HS) came on to record the final out of the ninth inning and allowed hits in the 10th inning before a double play ended the Owls threat.

Edwards drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the 10th inning off closer Kristian Scott and moved to second base on a Mercado single. The two runners advanced a base on a passed ball before Bravo's game-winning single.

Photos by Daryl Peterson