On Tuesday, the Cerritos College baseball team scored enough runs to hold off host Mt. San Jacinto College in an 18-17, 6-inning non-conference game. The game was ended due to darkness. The 3-0 start is the best since the team opened the 2018 year by going 5-0, while the 18 runs were the most since a 19-5 win over Compton College that same season. The Falcons will now compete in the SoCal Challenge, which will start on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. when the team hosts Los Angeles Valley.

A 3-0 top of the first inning lead quickly dissipated, as the Eagles (0-3) scored seven times in the bottom of the stanza. But no lead was safe in the game and Cerritos responded with eight runs in the top of the second inning. The bases were loaded with no outs after freshman Alex Figueroa (St. John Bosco HS) drew a walk, followed by singles from freshman Daniel Mariscal, Jr. (Long Beach Poly HS) and Buck Anderson (Lakewood HS/Cal State Bakersfield). Freshman Andres Vega (Mary Star of the Sea HS) drew a walk, which brought home a run, while two runs scored on a Mt. San Jacinto error. Freshman David Hays (St. John Bosco HS) followed with a two-run double, with sophomore Bodie Parker (Cajon HS/Chaffey College) adding an RBI single. Mariscal capped off the inning with a two-run single.

With the score tied 11-11 after four innings, the Falcons exploded for five more runs to take a lead they would not relinquish. They loaded the bases for Alex Bueno (Centennial, NV HS), who hit a two-run home run in the first inning. He emptied the bases with a double, followed by an RBI single from sophomore Richard Castro (Bishop Amat HS/Cal State San Bernardino). It what turned out to be the game-winning run, Anderson doubled in Mariscal, who led off with a single in the sixth inning.

The Eagles did score five times in the bottom of the sixth to get to within a run and left runners on first and second base. Freshman Aurelio Colon (Verdugo Hills HS) came on in relief with one out in the inning and both runners on base. He retired the two batters he faced to earn his first save of the season.

In his first appearance of the season, Mariscal went 4-for-4 at the plate and scored three times, while Bueno drove in a career-high six runs.