The Cerritos College baseball team was limited to eight singles on offense, while their defense committed six errors in a 10-0 loss to Ventura College on Tuesday. The Falcons will look to rebound on Wednesday with they play a 2:00 p.m. non-conference game against Cerro Coso College.

An error in the third inning opened the door for a three-run Pirate inning, while two errors in the span of three batters helped lead to a five-run fifth inning that put the game out of reach. In addition to the errors in the fifth inning, a pair of walks also hurt the team.

Freshman Christian Smith (Garden Grove HS) suffered the loss, as he pitched four innings and allowed six runs (two earned), while freshman Dylan Algra (Valley Christian HS) allowed three runs (one earned) over the next 1 1/3 innings. Sophomore Jared Gibson (Downey HS) struck out five batters in his 2 2/3 innings of work and allowed one run.

Offensively, the Falcons collected eight hits, but only had one runner in scoring position until they loaded the bases in the eighth inning. Singles by freshman second baseman Joseph Rivera (Savanna HS) and sophomore shortstop Cesar Castillo (Bellflower HS), along with a walk to freshman outfielder Joel Ayala (Maywood Academy HS) loaded the bases with two outs. But freshman designated hitter Myles Mendez (Long Beach Poly HS) hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

Cerritos put runners on second and third base in the ninth, but were unable to score. Castillo and freshman outfielder Johnny Martinez (Katella HS) each collected two hits on the day.

Photo by Daryl Peterson