The Cerritos College baseball team suffered a huge blow on Thursday, as they dropped a 7-5 South Coast Conference decision to ECC Compton Center. With the setback, the Falcons (23-12, 14-6) have slipped into a three-way tie for first place in the conference with one game left on Friday. On Friday, the team will conclude their regular season by hosting the Tartars at 2:30 p.m., while East Los Angles College (14-6) and Long Beach City College (14-6) are also vying for a share of the conference title. Cerritos holds the tie-breaker over both teams, as they won two of the three meetings this season, but a loss could drop the Falcons all the way down to third place.

Sophomore starting pitcher Dylan Algra (Valley Christian HS) struggled in his four innings, as he allowed four runs on six hits before being replaced by sophomore Jacob Northcutt (Summerville HS). The Tartars (15-20, 7-13) took a 7-1 lead through the first six innings before the Falcons tried to mount a comeback.

In the top of the seventh inning, sophomore outfielder Jose Ayala (Maywood Academy HS) led off with a triple and came home on a two-out base hit by freshman shortstop Daniel Lopez (Montebello HS). A walk to sophomore outfielder Johnny Martinez (Katella HS) preceded the Lopez base hit, while the inning remained alive on a fielding error, which loaded the bases. Sophomore first baseman Jose Romero (Whittier HS) was hit by a pitch to bring in the second run of the inning. But the Falcons were unable to add to their run total and left the bases loaded.

They loaded the bases again in the eighth inning when Ayala and freshman catcher Frank Vargas (El Rancho HS) each drew walks, with Martinez getting hit by a pitch. But with two outs, Lopez flied out to end the threat. They accounted for their final two runs in the ninth inning on a two-out, two-run triple by Ayala.