Needing a South Coast Conference win to break their losing skid, the Cerritos College softball team posted a 21-7, 5-inning win over host Compton College on Thursday. The Falcons (4-4, 1-3) will travel to Los Angeles Harbor College for a 3:00 p.m. conference game on Tuesday.
Cerritos scored in every inning against the Lady Tartars, which included three runs in the top of the first inning to get things started. They were leading, 18-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning before Compton put four runs on the board in the bottom of the stanza. Both teams pushed across three runs in the fifth inning before the mercy rule came into effect.
In the first inning, sophomore outfielder Itzel Soto (Long Beach Millikan HS) led off with a triple and then scored on a base hit from sophomore outfielder Haley Davis (Mayfair HS). Freshman second baseman Aliya Velasquez (Northview HS) and freshman designated player Chasity Martinez (South El Monte HS) each collected run-scoring singles in the inning. The bases were loaded in the second inning when Soto led off with a single, followed by walks to Davis and sophomore first baseman Brianna Spoolstra (Mayfair HS). Sophomore third baseman Kayla Aros (Mayfair HS) followed with a two-run single, with freshman catcher Dominique Jimenez (El Rancho HS) slapping out a single. Martinez drove in a run with a ground out, with sophomore outfielder Erica Martinez (Kennedy HS) singling in the fifth run of the inning.
Davis tripled to lead off the third inning and was plated on a sacrifice fly by Spoolstra. With Aros on first base after a single, Velasquez hit the team's third triple of the game to drive in a run, while Jimenez brought home Velasquez with a sacrifice fly. Soto drove in a pair in the fourth inning with a run, while every spot in the batting order drove in at least one run.
Soto, and Aros each finished the day with four hits, while Davis went 2-for-2 with a walk and scored three runs. Sophomore Sophia Collazo (Paramount HS) had a pair of hits off the bench.