A combination of timely hitting a great pitching out of the bullpen helped lead the Cerritos College baseball team to an 8-5 South Coast Conference win over Los Angeles Harbor College on Saturday. The Falcons (5-19, 4-10) slapped out 11 hits against seven Seahawks (9-19-1, 4-9-1) pitchers, while freshman relief pitcher John Chavez (St. John Bosco HS) earned his second save of the season with three strong innings in relief.
Cerritos will now start a three-game series with Compton College, which opens at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Kincaid Field.
Trailing 4-2 heading into the top of the fourth inning, sophomore designated hitter Trevor McInerney (Cerritos HS/El Camino College) doubled home sophomore catcher Andre Alvarez (Walnut HS), who reached base on an error. The Falcons didn't need another hit to tie the game, as McInerney advanced to third base on a wild pitch and then scored on a balk.
The Falcons took a brief 5-4 lead in the next inning on a sacrifice fly by Alvarez, and after LA Harbor tied the game in the bottom of the inning, Cerritos took the lead for good in the sixth inning. Freshman second baseman Alejandro Bueno (Centennial, NV HS) and sophomore shortstop Aaron Paek (Sunny Hills HS/Hope International University) led off the inning with consecutive walks. After sophomore outfielder Cody Ahrens (Mayfair HS/Hope International University) was intentionally walked to load the bases, Bueno scored on a fielder's choice on a ground ball by sophomore outfielder Michael Gonzalez (St. Bernard HS).
Bueno, who reached base four times on the day, added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning with a two-out, two-run home.
Chavez came on in relief of sophomore Joshua Jorgensen (Lakewood HS/East Los Angeles College) and tossed three shutout innings to pick up the save. He allowed just one hit and struck out three after Jorgensen pitched the first six innings and allowed five runs (four earned), while he struck out nine on the day.