Needing a couple things to happen in order for the Cerritos College baseball team to earn a share of the South Coast Conference championship, the team accomplished the first with a 6-2 win over Los Angeles Harbor College at Kincaid Field on Friday. However, the second did not happen, as Long Beach City College (24-12, 16-5) defeated El Camino College, 7-4. The end result is that the Falcons (23-13, 15-6) finished in second place in the conference and missed out on a guaranteed home series next week when the Southern California Regional Playoffs begin.

They will find out on Sunday where they are seeded, who their opponents will be for their best-of-three series and where they will play. The first round gets underway Friday.

In the win over the Seahawks (13-24, 9-12), Cerritos jumped on the board with a pair of runs in the first and second innings. It was the kind of beginning to a game sophomore pitcher Travis Bonner (Cabrilo HS) needed in his first start of the season. His first 18 appearances of the season had come in a relief role and he did an exceptional job pitching the first 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on three hits.

Offensively, sophomore shortstop Daniel Lopez (Montebello HS) led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore first baseman Mike Heenan (JSerra HS) and then to third on a wild pitch. A base hit by sophomore catcher Gary James (Sunny Hills HS) opened the scoring, while freshman second baseman Derrick Edwards (Mary Star of the Sea HS)  drove in James with a two-out base hit.

A leadoff single by freshman third baseman Kevin Sainz (Valley Christian HS), followed by a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt from freshman designated hitter Eric Hefner (El Dorado HS) got the second inning off to a good start. Lopez moves both runners along with a sacrifice bunt, which set the table for Heenan, who singled up the middle to drive in both runs.

As for Bonner (4-0), he used his pitches economically, as he breezed through the first five innings and ended his start by throwing just 67 pitches. He ran into a little trouble in the sixth inning with a hit batter and walk, which led to an RBI single and fielder's choice for another run before his departure. Freshman Carlos Hernandez (Pioneer HS) came on and pitched well in 2 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and didn't allow a hit.

Lopez finished the game with a 4-for-4 day, three runs scored and a sacrifice, while Heenan was 1-for-2 with two RBI. Edwards added three hits, with James and sophomore outfielder Mark Pena (Bell Gardens HS) both contributing two hits and an RBI.