Although the score was one-sided, a couple of well-placed hits early in the game could have led to a different outcome for the Cerritos College baseball team on Friday. Playing their second game of the 3rd Annual SoCal Challenge, the Falcons (2-3) were defeated by San Joaquin Delta College, 17-5 in six innings. As a result, the team will host Los Angeles Valley College at 10:00 a.m. in their final game of the tournament.

Trailing 3-0 heading into the bottom of the first inning, Cerritos had a chance to do some damage in their at-bat. Freshman outfielder Elijah Fountain (Grand Lake, LA HS) led of with a walk and advanced to third base on a single from sophomore shortstop Andy Vega (Mary Star of the Sea HS). Sophomore designated hitter Alex Bueno (Centennial, NV HS) walked to load the bases. The next two batters struck out, with freshman first baseman Mike Santos (Servite HS) drawing a run-scoring walk to get the team on the board. Another strikeout ended the scoring threat, with the Mustangs adding three more runs in the top of the second inning to open a 6-1 advantage.

By the end of the third inning, it was a 14-1 deficit and the Falcons were looking for bright spots on the day.

They scored three times in the bottom of the fifth inning, with freshman outfielder Jason Givens (Santa Fe HS) driving in a pair with a double. He also added an RBI double in the sixth inning and finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBI. A pair of walks to Bueno and freshman outfielder Moses Dokes (Santa Barbara HS) set the table for Givens, who ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly by freshman catcher Daniel Castellanos (Gahr HS).

The Falcons drew eight walks against three San Joaquin Delta pitchers.

Photos by Daryl Peterson