After missing the post-season for the last two seasons, the Cerritos College baseball team has been seeded #5 for the upcoming Southern California Regional Playoffs. The Falcons (24-12) will be hosting #12 Los Angeles Pierce College (19-16-1) in a best-of-three series. The Brahmas, who tied for third place in the Western State Conference North Division, will face Cerritos at 2:00 p.m. on Friday at Kincaid Field. Game 2 is slated for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, with a third game played 30 minutes at the conclusion, if necessary.

Cerritos has posted a 14-5 home record this year, and were the tri-champions of the South Coast Conference. They were the top-seeded team out of the conference because they won the series against Long Beach City College and East Los Angeles College, who shared the title with the Falcons.

LA Pierce went 10-10 in conference play and are led by a quartet of players at the plate. Joe Moran leads them with a .378 batting average with 28 RBI, while Dylan Tashjian is hitting .347 and leads them in RBI (33), walks (33) and stolen bases (14). The duo of Zach Friedman (.344, 21 RBI) and Austin Peters (.341) have helped the Brahmans to a .302 team batting average.

On the mound, Harsa Aditya is 6-4 with a 5.18 ERA, as the team posts a 5.45 team ERA on the year. Aditya is one of six players to win two games and for the Brahmas, with Daniel Barazza (4-2, 2 saves, 5.66 ERA) also one of their main  starting pitchers.

As for the Falcons, they are led by a sophomore-driven lineup. Third baseman Hayden Stevens (Katella HS), first baseman Jose Romero (Whittier HS), outfielders Johnny Martinez (Katella HS) and Jose Ayala (Maywood Academy HS), along with pitcher/outfielder Jared Robinson (Bishop Amat HS) have helped get Cerritos back into the post-season. Freshman Kyle Carpenter (Mayfair HS), the team leader with a .337 batting average, has missed the last week and a half of the season with an injury, and is a question mark for the first round.

Stevens (.306, 17 RBI), Romero (.296, 18 RBI), Martinez (.293), Ayala (.293, 3 triples), Robinson (.292, 10 doubles, 21 RBI), along with freshman shortstop Daniel Lopez (Montebello HS), and freshman second baseman Victor Guadalupe (La Quinta HS), who both have 20 RBI, have been key contributors on the year.

Robinson (9-4, 3 saves. 2.44 ERA) and sophomore Dylan Algra (Valley Christian HS), who is 6-4 with a 2.24 ERA, have been stellar on the season. The team's third starter, Carpenter, went 6-2 with a 1.94 ERA before having to miss the last week and a half. Sophomore Elpidio Martin (Lynwood HS) has done a remarkable job as the closer with eight saves and an 0.77 ERA. If Carpenter is unavailable for the first round, freshman Ryan Arambula (Bell Gardens HS), who started the season finale, will step into that role.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

Play-in Game (April 29)

#17 El Camino (22-14) @ #16 Mt. San Antonio (20-15)
#18 College of the Canyons (19-16-1) @ #15 East Los Angeles (23-13)

First Round Playoffs (Best-of-three series - May 2-3)

Lowest Remaining Seed @ #1 Orange Coast (27-9)
#9 Southwestern (25-11) @ #8 Rio Hondo (25-11)

#12 Los Angeles Pierce (19-16-1) @ #5 Cerritos (24-12)
#13 Allan Hancock (22-13-1) @ #4 Palomar (27-9)

#14 Long Beach City (21-15) @ #3 Santa Ana (25-11)
#11 San Bernardino Valley (26-10) @ #6 Santa Barbara City (23-13)

#10 Saddleback (22-14) @ #7 Los Angeles Mission (23-13)
2nd Lowest Remaining Seed @ #2 Oxnard (27-9)