On Tuesday in their South Coast Conference opener, the Cerritos College baseball team struggled at the plate through the first five innings. They trailed ECC Compton Center 4-1 and 5-2 before scoring three times in the eighth inning and then the game-winning run on an error in the ninth inning for a 6-5, walk-off win. The Falcons (8-5, 1-0) will travel to Compton on Thursday for a 2:00 p.m. conference game against the Tartars (1-14, 0-1).

In the ninth inning, sophomore outfielder Kenton McDonald (Long Beach Poly HS) was hit by a pitch with one out. That chased relief pitcher Adrian Poot in favor of Erick Velazquez, who walked both sophomore catcher Gary James (Sunny Hills HS) and sophomore outfielder Fermin Beza (California HS/William Jessup University). In came relief pitcher Juan Medina with two outs to face freshman second baseman Derrick Edwards (Mary Star of the Sea HS). On an 0-2 count, Edwards lifted a fly ball into short left field. Compton left fielder Jorge Rivas called off shortstop Miguel Valles, but dropped the ball while sliding to make the catch, which allowed McDonald to score the game-winning run.

It was Edwards in the eighth inning that helped  Cerritos get back into the game. Trailing 5-2, he doubled in James and Beza, who drew walks off starting pitcher Gary Smith after convincing his coach to let him try and get out of the inning after a mound visit. Edwards drove a ball into deep left field, which drove home two runs and chased Smith. Sophomore first baseman Mike Heenan (JSerra HS) brought home the trying run with a base hit off Poot.

The Falcon pitching was shaky in the early innings, with freshman starting pitcher Jacob Carter (Cerritos HS) lasting one batter into the fourth inning. Freshman relief pitcher Sean Kinnicutt (Warren HS) was solid at times, but allowed three runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings, while also striking out five batters. Sophomore Adrian Ramirez (Santiago HS) faced just one batter in the eighth inning, with freshman Mitchell Peak (Goodpasture Christian School, TN) pitching one inning. Sophomore Jerald Johnston (California HS) earned the win after getting a ground ball double play to end the ninth inning.

Beza and sophomore shortstop Daniel Lopez (Montebello HS) each had a pair of hits for Cerritos, while sophomore outfielder Mark Pena (Bell Gardens HS) extended his school-record hitting streak to 25 games with an RBI double in the seventh inning.

Photos by Daryl Peterson