Earning 1st Team All-South Coast Conference South Division honors as a sophomore, Cerritos College pitcher Vincent Fuentes has signed a letter of intent to transfer to Marymount California University. Fuentes posted a 4-3 record with a 3.41 ERA in 14 appearances, while making seven starts. He struck out 47 batters in 58 innings, allowed just 52 hits and held batters to a .250 average. He tossed eight shutout innings against Long Beach City College and struck out a season-high nine batters in his best game of the year, while he also picked up a pair of wins in relief during the year.
"I had choices between going out of state to College of New Rochelle (NY), Union College (KY), University of the Cumberlands (KY)," said Fuentes. "I chose Marymount for my final decision because it was such a great school all-around. It was a nice small campus that looks over the ocean, which I really loved about the school. This school also has my major, where I will be able to further my education and get my BA in Criminal Justice."
The Mariners lose seven pitchers from last season after posting a 19-31-1 record as a member of the California Pacific Conference, where they finished in third place. Fuentes will have a chance to be a member of their starting rotation, a role which he feels most comfortable.
"I've had experience starting and coming out of the bullpen, but talking over with my coaches and seeing what I'm more comfortable with, my role for next year will be as a starting pitcher," added Fuentes. "The team struggled a bit last year, especially their pitching staff from the starting rotation to the bullpen. I've always been a starting pitcher, but I have a lot of experience coming out of the bullpen. I know I'm going to help this program out and win a lot more games and hopefully a championship."
Fuentes played a role in the Falcons winning the South Coast Conference South Division title in 2018, while also being seeded #1 for the Southern California Regional Playoffs. He came out of the bullpen against both Los Angeles Pierce College and El Camino College, while combining to allow five runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings of work.
"One thing I will definitely remember about playing at Cerritos College and being a part of Coach Gaylord's final team," added Fuentes, "is that after a very heartbreaking season in 2017 and starting off the 2018 season not being ranked to end the season ranked #1 in SoCal. Also, winning the conference championship, and to top it off, have Coach Gaylord be named the Coach of the Year in his final season."