For the second day in a row, the Cerritos College baseball team suffered a one-run loss in South Coast Conference play. The Falcons (1-12, 0-3) were defeated, 8-7 by host East Los Angeles College on Tuesday, while the two teams will face off against each other at 2:00 p.m. on Friday at Kincaid Field.
Trailing 8-4 after five innings, Cerritos started making a comeback that saw them get the tying run on third base in the ninth inning. In the sixth inning, sophomore first baseman Roberto Salazar, Jr. (Fullerton HS) led off with a base hit and moved to second on a wild pitch. After moving to third base on a fly out, Salazar came home on a sacrifice fly by freshman second baseman Alejandro Bueno (Centennial, NV HS).
It became an 8-7 game after the Falcons posted two more more runs in the seventh inning. Sophomore shortstop Aaron Paek (Sunny Hills HS/Hope International University), who started the game on the mound, drew a one-out walk and then raced around the bases on an RBI double from sophomore outfielder Cody Ahrens (Mayfair HS/Hope International University). With two outs, Ahrens was plated on a base hit by sophomore catcher Andre Alvarez (Walnut HS).
They looked to tie the game in the ninth inning, but a baserunning error ended their chances. Freshman Nicholas Martinez (La Serna HS) led off with a walk and advanced to third base with no outs after an Paek base hit. With one out, sophomore outfielder Michael Gonzalez (St. Bernard HS) laid down a bunt and was safe at first on an infield single. However, on the play, Martinez was caught too far off third base and was tagged for the second out, while a ground out ended the team's hopes.
Martinez, who came on in relief of Paek in the second inning, suffered the loss after pitching the final 6 2/2 innings. He also went 1-for-3 at the plate, while Paek was 2-for-4 with a walk and RBI. In the third inning, Ahrens hit a two-run home run and collected three hits on the day, while sophomore third baseman Trevor McInerney (Cerritos HS/El Camino College) clubbed his team-leading fourth home run in the fourth inning with the bases empty.