Baseball: Halted game and regular game end in losses

Rollie Nichols drove in a pair of runs in the 8th inning of the halted game
Rollie Nichols drove in a pair of runs in the 8th inning of the halted game

On Saturday, the Cerritos College baseball team looked to grab one game from South Coast Conference leader El Camino College. The teams started the day completing a halted game from March 21 prior to their regularly scheduled game. Unfortunately for the Falcons (8-18, 3-8), both games resulted on losses, 11-5 in the halted game and 5-1 in the regulation game, which extends their losing streak to six games. They will look to snap that skid on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. when they travel to face Long Beach City College.

March 21 halted game: Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth, the game continued with two runners on base and one out for Cerritos. Freshman outfielder Rolando Nichols (Serra HS) ripped a bases-clearing triple to get the team to within 4-3, with freshmen first baseman Jesus Mercado (St. John Bosco HS) adding a two-out RBI double, which tied the game at 4-4. The Warriors were not deterred and scored seven times on six hits in the ninth inning against three different pitchers. The Falcons scored once in the ninth inning, but it wasn't enough in an 11-5 loss.

March 25 schedule game: Freshman starting pitcher Gilbert Romero (Alhambra HS) pitched exceptionally well at times, but walks and stolen bases damaged his chances at a win. A leadoff walk, single, stolen base and sacrifice fly gave the Warriors a quick 1-0 lead, while a one-out walk, stolen base and two-out double made it a 2-0 game in the fourth inning. Aside from those two innings, Romero (2-3) retired 15 of the 20 batters he faced, with three reaching base on walks, while he surrendered just one other hit.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Falcons scored their lone run when freshman catcher Adam Rubio (Montebello HS) led off with a walk. Freshman outfielder Dominic Bravo (Warren HS) was hit by a pitch before freshman designated hitter Christopher Gomez (South Torrance HS) singled home the team's only run.

However, Cerritos had several scoring chances, but a pair of baserunning blunders hurt their chances. Sophomore second baseman Derrick Edwards (Mary Star of the Sea HS) was caught too far off second base on a ground ball that was mishandled. Mercado was also caught between first and second base after a strikeoutm which resulted in two outs on the play. The Falcons left bases loaded in the first and sixth innings, as well as runners on second and third in the fifth inning when Nichols hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.