Locked in a close battle through seven innings, the Cerritos College baseball team allowed four runs in the eighth inning and suffered a 7-1 loss at the hands of Santa Ana College on Tuesday. The loss was the second in a row against the Dons, with the Falcons (5-10) opening South Coast Conference play this Thursday with a 2:00 p.m. game at Rio Hondo College.

Cerritos took a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning when freshman outfielder Rolando Nichols (Serra HS) and freshman catcher Adam Rubio (Montebello HS) led off the stanza with base hits. That chased starter Nigel Ward in favor of Cole Hoskins. Freshman third baseman Jorge Rodriguez (Bellflower HS) successfully sacrificed the runners with a bunt, with the Falcons breaking the scoreless game when freshman designated hitter Dominic Bravo (Warren HS) singled up the middle.

That would be all the offense in the inning, as Bravo was picked off first base and freshman first baseman Jesus Mercado (St. John Bosco HS) flied out. On the day, Cerritos collected just five hits, with only one coming in the final three innings.

Freshman starting pitcher Edgar Velasquez (Montebello HS) cruised through the first five innings, but was faced with runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth inning. He allowed a two-run single to Derek Reilly, who was thrown out at second base trying to advance on the play. Julio Rivera followed with a solo home run.

In the seventh inning, freshman Carlos Valle (Bell Gardens HS) came on in relief and after he allowed an RBI double in the eighth inning, he was replaced by freshman Michael Corona (Schurr HS). The Dons would go on to score four runs in the inning against three Falcon pitchers.