On Tuesday, the Cerritos College baseball team put up one big inning against host Santa Ana College in their non-conference game. Unfortunately for the Falcons, once they recorded their seven-run sixth inning, the Dons scored the next nine runs and posted a 16-8 decision. The two teams will meet again on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. at Kincaid Field.

Trailing 7-1 heading into the sixth inning, Cerritos (4-2) strung together seven hits in the inning to take a brief 8-7 lead. In the inning, sophomore outfielder Mark Pena (Bell Gardens HS) extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a leadoff single. Sophomore outfielder Kenton McDonald (Long Beach Poly HS) followed with a base hit before sophomore outfielder Fermin Beza (California HS/William Jessup University) drove in the first run of the inning with a double. Sophomore catcher Gary James (Sunny Hills HS) followed with a two-run double to get the team to within 7-4.

A base hit by sophomore shortstop Daniel Lopez (Montebello HS) chased starting pitcher Austin Vander Riet. Freshman second baseman Derrick Edwards (Mary Star of the Sea HS) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for sophomore first baseman Mike Heenan (JSerra HS), who singled in a run. It was a 7-6 game after freshman designated hitter Kevin Sainz (Valley Christian HS) was hit by a pitch to force in another run. The Falcons took the lead when McDonald doubled in a pair of runs after the team batted around.

However, the lead didn't last long, as Santa Ana pushed across a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning against freshman relief pitcher Sean Kinnicutt (Warren HS). The game was put out of reach when the Dons added five more runs in the seventh inning, with the big hit being a two-out grand slam by Austin Pritchard off sophomore Adrian Ramirez (Santiago HS).

On the day, McDonald went 4-for-5, with Heenan going 3-for-5. The trio of Beza, James (three RBI) and Lopez all posting a pair of hits.