In their South Coast Conference opener, the Cerritos College softball team was limited to just two hits in a 6-0 loss to host Rio Hondo College on Thursday. The Falcons (2-1, 0-1) will play their home opener on Saturday at noon when they welcome Riverside City College.
Missing out on a scoring chance in the second inning when they left the bases loaded, the game was scoreless through the first three innings. However, the Roadrunners pushed across a pair of runs in the fourth inning and then added three more in the fifth to open up a big lead.
In that second inning, freshman Kara Spoolstra (Mayfair HS) was hit by a pitch with one out and stole second base. The Falcons had runners on first and second when freshman Chasity Martinez (South El Monte HS) reached on an error. A walk to sophomore Sophia Collazo (Paramount HS) loaded the bases for sophomore Erica Martinez (Kennedy HS), who popped out. Sophomore Kayla Aros (Torrance HS) followed by popping up, which ended the scoring threat.
Freshman Aliya Velasquez (Northview HS) opened the fourth inning by reaching on an error and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. The next three batters were retired and Velasquez was stranded. Cerritos got their first hit of the game in the top of the fifth inning when Aros singled with one out. She advanced to second base after sophomore Haley Davis (Mayfair HS) reached on an error, but both could not be driven in. The second hit came in the seventh inning, but the team stranded two more runners.
Sophomore pitcher Skyler Swearingen (Mayfair HS) started the game and suffered the loss after allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits in 4 2/3 innings of work. Martinez tossed the final 1 1/3 inning and gave up three runs.