On Tuesday, the Cerritos College baseball team snapped a nine-game losing skid, as pitching brothers Erick Velasquez and Edgar Velasquez combined for a two-hitter in a 4-0 South Coast Conference South Division win over visiting ECC Compton Center. The two teams will meet again at 2:30 p.m. in Compton on Thursday.

Getting the start, sophomore Erick Velasquez (Bell Gardens HS/ECC Compton Center) retired the first seven batters before allowing a single to Ronnie Flores in the third inning. He didn't allow another hit, but ran into some control issues in the sixth inning with a pair of one-out walks and a wild pitch. Freshman Edgar Velasquez (Montebello HS) came on in relief and got a diving defensive stop from freshman first baseman Jesus Mercado (St. John Bosco HS) and a fly out to keep the shutout intact.

Of the 12 batters Edgar Velasquez faced, he retired 11 of them to earn his first save of the season, with Flores getting the only hit off him in the eighth inning. Erick Velasquez earned the win to improve to 3-1 on the season.

The Falcons (9-21, 4-11) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when freshman third baseman Jorge Rodriguez (Bellflower HS) tripled with one out and scored on a wild pitch. They added a pair of runs on the third inning after freshman outfielder Nick Penzetta (Kamehameha, HI HS) led off with a single and advanced to third on a failed pickoff throw by Tartars pitcher Ryan Barbarin. Rodriguez singled home Penzetta and eventually scored on a base hit from Mercado.

Sophomore second baseman Derrick Edwards (Mary Star of the Sea HS) singled with two outs in the seventh inning, stole second base and came home on a double down the left field line by Mercado. He and freshman catcher Adam Rubio (Montebello HS) each had three hits on the day.

Photos by Daeyl Peterson