After placing second in the South Coast Conference, the Cerritos College baseball team was seeded #15 for the Southern California Regional Playoffs. The top 14 seeded teams will open their best two-out-of-three series on May 1, while the final four teams are required to compete in a play-in game, which will take place on Tuesday, April 28.

With the Falcons seeded #15, they will be hosting Riverside City College at 2:00 p.m., the seventh place team out of the Orange Empire Conference, as they were seeded #18. After the two play-in games are completed, the lower seeded team will travel to face #1-seeded Palomar College, while the higher remaining seeded team heads to take on #2-seeded Oxnard College. A win by the Falcons would send them to Oxnard to take on the Condors.

This will be the first meeting of the year between Cerritos and Riverside since 2001 when the Tigers posted a 5-1 win in the first round of the playoffs.

The Falcons are led offensively by sophomore third baseman Victor Guadalupe (La Quinta HS), who has five home runs and 27 RBI, while freshman catcher Gary James (Sunny Hills HS) has driven in 21 runs and is hitting at a .295 clip. Freshman outfielder Mark Pena (Bell Gardens HS) leads the team with a .302 batting average, with sophomore outfielder Shane Preston (Deer Creek, OK HS) leading the team with eight doubles to go along with 16 RBI.

On the mound, sophomores Ryan Arambula (Bell Gardens HS) and Kyle Carpenter (Mayfair HS) have combined for 11 wins, with Carpenter recording a 1.70 ERA and 72 strikeouts. Sophomore relief pitcher George Mendoza (Bell Gardens HS) has done exceptionally well on the year with a 2-0 record, five saves and a 1.85 ERA, while freshman Jerald Johnston (California HS) leads the team with six saves.

David Schuknecht leads the Tigers in power numbers with eight home runs and is second in RBI with 29 behind Brody Weiss, who's driven in 31 runs and also has 12 doubles to go with his .314 batting average. Riverside boasts five batters hitting over .300 and are led by Logan Griffin and his .377 average and five triples. Pitching ace Austin Sodders is 7-1 on the season with a 2.03 ERA and 58 strikeouts. The trio of Tyler Rowe, Angel Delgado and Tyler Tungate have combined for 10 wins, with David Robles recording four saves.

TUESDAY, APRIL 28

#18 Riverside City (21-15) @ #15 Cerritos (22-14)
#17 Irvine Valley (20-16) @ #16 LA Mission (22-14)

FRIDAY/SATURDAY, MAY 1-2 (BEST OF THREE SERIES)

Lower Remaining Seed @ #1 Palomar (30-6)
@9 Southwestern (28-8) @ #8 Glendale (19-17)

#12 Fullerton (21-15) @ #5 Cypress (25-11)
#13 Cuesta (20-16) @ #4 Golden West (23-13)

#14 Rio Hondo (26-10) @ #3 Santa Barbara City (28-8)
#11 Saddleback (23-13) @ #6 San Bernardino Valley (23-13)

#10 Orange Coast (21-15) # #7 Long Beach City (20-16)
Higher Remaining Seed @ #2 Oxnard (26-9-1)