The wind played a part in the Cerritos College 6-0 softball win over Long Beach City College on Saturday at Nancy Kelly Field. Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, sophomore third baseman Jenny Navarro (Warren HS) lifted a fly ball to left field that was carried over the fence by the wind for a three-run home run for a 4-0 lead. The South Coast Conference win kept the Falcons (27-12, 15-5) alone in second place with one game left. The team will travel to Pasadena City College for a 2:00 p.m. game to close out their regular season.
Sophomore shortstop Camille Manzo (La Habra HS/Sterling (KS) College) drew a one out walk, stole second base and moved to third on an infield out. She came home to score on a Brooke Loard wild pitch to get the first inning started. Freshman pitcher Jissel Caballero (Warren HS) followed with a double and freshman first baseman Kylee Brown (Mayfair HS) drew a walk. That set the stage for Navarro's fourth home run of the year.
Caballero (4-1) didn't allow a hit to the Vikings (21-18, 11-9) until the fifth inning, as Vanessa Valdez and Andrea Barba collected consecutive one-out singles. But Caballero, who finished with a three-hitter, retired the next two batters on pop-ups to end the inning.
Cerritos added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to put the game out of reach. Brown led off the fourth inning with a single, with Navarro adding a base hit. The bases were loaded after sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Kutzke (Los Alamitos HS/University of Montana) was hit by a pitch. Freshman designated player Stephanie Chuc (El Rancho HS) singled to drive in Brown. Navarro capped off the scoring in the fifth inning with a base hit that plated freshman outfielder Kimberly Olivas (Warren HS).
Photos by Daryl Peterson
