Needing a win to stay in at least a tie for first place in the South Coast Conference South Division, the Cerritos College baseball team posted a 6-3 win over visiting Los Angeles Harbor College on Saturday. The win improves the Falcons record to 26-9 on the year, while they are 11-6 in conference play and entered the day tied with El Camino College for first place. The Warriors dropped a 7-3 score against Long Beach City on Saturday to fall a game behind the Falcons. Cerritos will now begin a three-game series with rival Long Beach City with the first game slated for 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Kincaid Field.

The Falcons allowed a run in the top of the first inning, but responded with four of their own in the bottom of the stanza. With a runner on first base, Cerritos collected five straight hits to account for their runs. Sophomore designated hitter Ramon Bramasco (Cathedral HS) singled to put runners on first and third, with sophomore third baseman Jesus Mercado (St. John Bosco HS) following with an RBI double to tie the game. Freshman catcher Andre Alvarez (Walnut HS) then stepped up and singled home a pair, while sophomore outfielder Nick Penzetta (Kamehameha, HI HS) and freshman first baseman Michael Gonzalez (St. Bernard HS) loaded the bases with singles of their own. The fourth run came home on a sacrifice fly from freshman outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez (Santa Fe HS).

Sophomore starting pitcher Valentin Flores-Gomez (Gahr HS) struggled from the outset and allowed four straight hits to the Seahawks (16-18, 4-12), who closed the game to 4-3 in the second inning. Sophomore Vincent Fuentes (El Rancho HS) came on in relief and allowed only four baserunners in his 5 2/3 innings of work to earn the win. He struck out four batters and came out in the top of the seventh inning with a runner on second base after he struck out Ruben Markam looking. Sophomore Carlos Valle (Bell Gardens HS) retired seven of the eight batters he faced to earn his sixth save of the season and struck out Chris Villavasencio looking to end the game.

Cerritos added two insurance runs in the fourth inning when Gabriel Gonzalez led off with a base hit, followed by sophomore outfielder Jakob Gonzalez (La Mirada HS/San Jose State University) and sophomore shortstop Jorge Rodriguez (Bellflower HS) both getting hit by pitches. Sophomore second baseman Rollie Nichols (Serra HS) welcomed new pitcher RJ Ebert with an RBI single, with Bramasco driving in the final run with a sacrifice fly.

Photos by Daryl Peterson