Although they found their missing offense, the Cerritos College baseball team couldn't keep host Fullerton from answering back in a 16-14 non-conference loss on Tuesday. The setback dropped the Falcons record to 1-6, while they will be back on the road Wednesday for a 2:00 p.m. game at Mt. San Jacinto College.
With the game tied at 3-3 heading into the top of the fourth inning, Cerritos put six runs on the board, with the big hit being a three-run double by sophomore catcher Andre Alvarez (Walnut HS). However, the Hornets (3-6) responded with nine runs in the bottom of the stanza to regain the lead. The Falcons did come back with four more runs in the top of the fifth inning for a brief 13-12 advantage.
In the fifth inning, Alvarez added another RBI on a fielder's choice, while both freshman designated hitter Matt Den Hartog (Los Alamitos HS) and sophomore first baseman Roberto Salazar, Jr. (Fullerton HS) followed with run-scoring singles. Once again, Fullerton had an answer, as they scored two more times for a 14-13 lead. The Falcons tied the game at 14-14 in the sixth inning on a Michael Gonzalez (St. Bernard HS) sacrifice fly, only to have the Hornets account for the final two runs of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Gonzalez (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 runs, 2 walks) led off the top of the ninth inning with a base hit, but was stranded at second base. The Falcons collected 15 hits on the day, with Salazar, Jr. leading them with three hits, while Alvarez, Den Hartog, freshman second baseman Alejandro Bueno (Centennial, NV HS) and sophomore shortstop Trevor McInerney (Cerritos HS/El Camino College) each posting a pair of hits.