Playing a pair of home games on Saturday, the Cerritos College softball team recorded two wins to extend their winning streak to five games, The Falcons (11-5) posted an 11-6 win over Fullerton College in the first game and then defeated defending state champion Palomar College, 11-8. The team will resume South Coast Conference play on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. when they host Pasadena City College.

Cerritos vs. Fullerton: The Falcons received a pair of three-run home runs in their victory over the Hornets (9-8), with sophomore first baseman Haley Whitney (Warren HS) and freshman catcher Krystal Purkey (Gahr HS) coming up with the big hits. Fullerton took an early 3-0 lead on a three-run home run from Breana Pineda, but Cerritos picked up a single run in the first inning, followed by two more in the second before Whitney put the team in the lead for good with her round-tripper in the third inning. Sophomore pitcher Kat Flores (El Rancho HS) went the distance and allowed six runs (five earned) on 11 hits, but recorded big outs when the team needed them.

Sophomore third baseman Ariana Mejia (Gahr HS) went 3-for-3 at the plate with a walk and two RBI, while Purkey, Whitney, sophomores Danah Vasquez (Santa Fe HS) and Stephanie Olivas (Warren HS), along with freshman Joanna Perruccio (Long Beach Wilson HS) all adding two hits in the win.

Cerritos vs. Palomar: In the second game of the day, Cerritos opened up a 10-0 lead over the Comets (12-2) after four innings, but had to withstand a late comeback attempt. It was a seven-run third inning that helped the Falcons break out to a big lead. The big hits in the inning were a two-run double by sophomore Arianna Hernandez (Santa Fe HS) and a two-run single with two outs by Olivas. Four of the team's first seven hits came with  two strikes, with Palomar helping out with a pair of errors.

Flores, who pitched both games, was one strike away from an eight-run mercy rule victory until Carlie Daniel kept the game going with a two-run double in the top of the fifth inning. Palomar added three more runs in the sixth inning to get to within 11-8, but Flores had a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh to pick up the victory.

In the game, Cerritos had just 10 hits, with Mejia, Whitney, Hernandez and Vasquez each garnering a pair.

Photos by Daryl Peterson