For the second game in a row, the Cerritos College baseball team fell behind 3-0 against rival Long Beach City College. And for the second consecutive game, the Falcons came back to earn a South Coast Conference win. On Thursday, they scored the final eight runs of the game for an 8-3 win, which keeps them in a first place tie with El Camino College. Cerritos will travel to Joe Hicks Field on Saturday for a noon game to close out their series against the Vikings.

With the game tied at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, sophomore shortstop Daniel Lopez (Montebello HS) drew a one-out walk to get a five-run rally started. Sophomore first baseman Mike Heenan (JSerra HS) followed with a base hit to centerfield. When LBCC outfielder Tai Tiedermann overthrew the cutoff, Heenan moved to second base. Sophomore outfielder Mark Pena (Bell Gardens HS) broke the tie with a two-run triple to right-center field.

That chased Vikings starter Evan May in favor of Kyle Castillo. Cerritos would get all four runners on base with Castillo on the mound. Sophomore catcher Gary James (Sunny Hills HS) drew a walk, while sophomore outfielder Fermin Beza (California HS/William Jessup University) drove in a run with a single to left field. On the play, Vikings outfielder Tristin Chamberlain slipped and let the ball get away, which allowed James to come all the way around to score. An RBI single from freshman second baseman Derrick Edwards (Mary Star of the Sea HS) capped off the scoring in the inning.

Freshman pitcher Jacob Carter (Cerritos HS), who came on in relief in the bottom of the third inning after the Vikings had scored twice for a 3-0 lead, tossed five innings and didn't allow a run. Carter (2-3) allowed just four baserunners and earned the win, with sophomore Jerald Johnston (California HS) coming in to get the final four outs of the game.

Heenan finished the day with three hits, while Pena, Beza and Edwards all had two hits in a winning cause.

Photos by Daryl Peterson