Freshman shortstop Jacob Valdez (Katella HS) blooped a single into right field that scored freshman third baseman Hayden Stevens (Katella HS) from second base in the bottom of the ninth to give the Cerritos College baseball team a 6-5 South Coast Conference win over ECC Compton Center on Thursday at Kincaid Field. The win was the second in a row in dramatic fashion against the Tartars (7-9, 2-3), as the Falcons (8-9, 3-2) scored seven runs in the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday to come back for a win. The two teams will play the third game of their series on Saturday at  noon at the MLB Academy in Compton.

Leading 5-3 heading into the top of the ninth inning, sophomore relief pitcher Sebastian Frutos (Bellflower HS) came in to replace freshman Dylan Algra (Valley Christian HS), who pitched into the ninth inning and was pulled after issuing a leadoff walk to Chris Jacobs. Frutos recorded an out and then allowed consecutive singles to David Terarzas and Josh Palmer, the second of which drove in a run. After he walked Larry Barraza to load the bases, Frutos was pulled in favor of freshman Christian Smith (Garden Grove HS), who allowed a game-tying sacrifice fly to Oscar Munoz. Smith (1-0) pitched the 10th inning and earned the win.

But in the bottom of the stanza, Stevens delivered a base hit through the right side on the first offering from relief pitcher Eric Chavez (0-1), who came in for Omar Pelayo. After a balk advanced Stevens to second base, Valdez looped a 2-2 pitch that landed between first base and right field, with Stevens coming around to score the game-winning run to the delight of his teammates.

The Falcons took an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as freshman designated hitter Jared Robinson (Bishop Amat HS) crushed his first home run of the season, a two-run shot. Stevens followed with a triple and scored on a fielding error. Freshman Johnny Martinez (Katella HS) delivered an RBI sacrifice fly in the third inning, while Stevens gave the team a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning with a single.

Algra worked out of several jams on the day, including the second inning when he surrendered a pair of runs. He also stranded a runner on third base in the third inning when he recorded a pair of ground outs, while he struck out Juan Avena and Jacobs to end the sixth inning with runners on second and third base.

Photo by Daryl Peterson