It's been five seasons since the Cerritos College baseball team has qualified for the Southern California Regional Playoffs. A lot has changed for the Falcon baseball program during that time, but the team has stormed back into the post-season and have earned the #1 seed for the upcoming postseason. First-year head coach Nate Fernley, who led his El Camino College team to an upset win over Cerritos in the 2018 playoffs, has guided his Falcons team to the South Coast Conference championship and a 32-8 season record. The team will take on #24-seeded College of the Desert (21-19), who came in third place in the Inland Empire Athletic Conference. The best-of-3 series will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Friday at Kincaid Field. Although they haven't won a 3C2A State Championship since 1989, the Falcons still lead the state with nine titles in their career.

Prices for tickets will be $12 for General Admission, as well as $8 for Seniors 60 and older, Students with current ID, Military with ID and children 6-12. Children under six are free.

The two teams met back on January 30, with Cerritos recording a 15-1 win. In that game, the Falcons turned a 5-1 lead through six innings into a 13-1 lead after and eight-run seventh inning that was led by a grand slam from sophomore designated hitter Marco Lopez (Narbonne HS/Vanguard University). By the end of the game, five different players had three hits, while the team finished with 18 hits, which would be the second most in a game all season. Sophomore pitcher Franky Lopez (Dominguez HS) started the game on the mound and tossed six innings and registered five strikeouts.

On the year, the two teams have faced five common opponents, with Cerritos going a combined 12-0, with the Roadrunners posting a combined 3-7 mark. The Falcons hold a 2-1 lifetime series lead, with the two teams meeting for the first time ever in 2023.

As a team, the Falcons lead the state with a 2.53 ERA and boast a trio of starters that are a combined 28-4, with freshman Derek Valdez (Los Alamitos HS) tied for the state lead with 11 wins, while sophomore closer Calix Armijo (Mary Star of the Sea HS) leads the state with 10 saves. Lopez, who's 9-0 with a 1.79 ERA and freshman Myles Johnson (Katella HS), with his 8-3 record and 2.95 ERA are huge reasons why the Falcons have made their huge turnaround. Valdez and Lopez own the state's third and fifth lowest ERA in the state, respectively. By contrast, Desert has posted a 5.27 team ERA on the year, with the tandem of Trevor Stowe and Braden Turner combining to win 13 of their games.

At the plate, Cerritos has been a success by committee, with sophomore third baseman Anthony Bassett (Colegio Bautista de Managua, Nicaragua/Los Angeles Harbor College) leading the team with a .333 batting average, while freshman Isaiah Rios (St. John Bosco HS) the only other player batting over .300 on the year with his .303 mark. Sophomore shortstop DJ Massey (Gahr HS/Central Arizona College) has been a threat on the bases with his 21 stolen bases to go along with his .292 batting average, while sophomore first baseman Mike Santos (Servite HS) leads the team with four home runs and 39 RBI. College of the Desert has hit .313 as a team on the season, with seven of their nine starters hitting over .300. Eric Arrreola (.323, 41 RBI) and Stowe (.343, 40 RBI) have been their biggest run producers and they have hit 31 home runs as a team.