On Thursday, the Cerritos College baseball team surrendered a season high in runs (14) and hits (15) against host Los Angeles Harbor College. The 14-7 South Coast Conference loss to the Seahawks (16-17, 4-11) dropped the Falcons (25-9, 10-6) into a tie for first place in the South Division with El Camino College. The team will host LA Harbor at noon on Saturday and have six games left in their regular season.
The Falcons did take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, and were on top, 4-1 after their plate appearance in the fourth inning. But LA Harbor responded with six runs in the bottom of the stanza and went on to score 12 unanswered runs before Cerritos scored three times in the top of the eighth inning. Thanks to a pair of errors in that fourth inning, five of the six runs were unearned in the fourth inning.
Prior to that inning, Cerritos received back-to-back solo home runs from sophomore outfielder Nick Penzetta (Kamehameha, HI HS) freshman outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez (Santa Fe HS). They kept that inning alive when sophomore outfielder Jakob Gonzalez (La Mirada HS/San Jose State University) followed with a base hit and sophomore shortstop Jorge Rodriguez (Bellflower HS) drew a walk. Sophomore second baseman Rollie Nichols (Serra HS) singled home the third run of the inning.
Sophomore starting pitcher Micah Hee (Kamehameha, HI HS), who had excelled in his first two collegiate starts, struggled and was taken out in the fourth inning. He lasted 3 2/3 innings and was charged with eight runs (three earned) on six hits. Freshman Eric Winchester (Diamond Bar HS) went the next 3 1/3 innings and was touched up for six runs (three earned) and nine hits, while striking out four.
Seven of the batters in the lineup had at least one hit, with freshman catcher Andre Alvarez (Walnut HS) going 2-for-4 with a walk, while sophomore designated hitter Ramon Bramasco (Cathedral HS) drew three free passes and added a hit.