Sophomore first baseman Keira Bolinas (Torrance HS) provided all of the offense necessary for the Cerritos College softball team with her first inning grand slam against Santa Ana College on Wednesday at Nancy Kelly Field. The 5-1 win over the Dons (5-1) was the second in as many days for the Falcons (2-1), who will travel to Santiago Canyon College on Friday for a 3:00 p.m. game, weather permitting.
With one out and the bases loaded, Bolinas clubbed a 1-1 pitcher over the right field fence for her first home run of the season. It was enough of an offensive cushion for freshman starting pitcher Skyler Swearingen (Mayfair HS), who pitched the first four innings and allowed one run on six hits. She was breezing through the first three innings until she encountered some trouble in the fourth inning.
After allowing consecutive singles to start the inning, Swearingen got Raeleen Pelayo to hit into a double play to cut down one of the runners. Although Jeana Gonzales followed with an RBI single, followed by a base hit from Madelyn Hodge, which put runners on first and second base, Swearingen got Nicole Yniguez to fly out to end the inning.
The Falcons added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore second baseman Brianna Spoolstra (Mayfair HS) led off with a single, followed by one-out base hits from Bolinas and sophomore Victoria Medina (Whittier HS/Rio Hondo College) to load the bases. Sophomore Deja Sendejas (El Rancho HS) drove in Spoolstra with a single to put the lead back at four runs.
Sophomore Sierra Gerdts (Montebello HS) came on in relief and tossed the final three innings to earn the win. She allowed a pair of singles, but retired the final five batters to collect her second win in as many days.
Photos by Daryl Peterson
