Provided with their fair share of scoring chances, the Cerritos College baseball team left 10 runners on base in their 13-4 loss to Santa Ana College on Tuesday at Kincaid Field. The loss was the third in a row for the Falcons (2-5), who will travel to Santa Ana on Thursday for a 2:00 p.m. game against the Dons (6-0).

Although they were trailing 3-0 heading into their first at-bat, the Falcons were able to get runners in scoring position. Freshman outfielder Julian Francois (Serra HS), who has been electric all season, reached on an infield single and stole second base to get the inning started. He then advanced on a wild pitch, and after sophomore third baseman Alex Bueno (Centennial, NV HS) drew a one-out walk, Cerritos went on to strand both runners.

They left freshman second baseman Lucas Iorgulescu (Marina HS) at second base in the second inning after his two-out double, while Cerritos was able to push a run across in the third inning. Francois led off with a base hit up the middle, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out double from freshman first baseman Sawyer Chesley (Laguna Beach HS). Freshman designated hitter Sam Rodriguez (South East HS) followed by drawing a walk, but that's all the Falcons could push across the plate.

All the while, Santa Ana was taking advantage of six walks, a hit batter and five wild pitches to open their 9-1 lead. Freshman Joseph Cossette (Laguna Hills HS), making his first collegiate start, struggled in the first inning, but recorded five strikeouts to account for the first five outs. He settled down in the second and third innings, but allowed five straight hits to start the fourth inning and was replaced after leaving the game with the bases loaded. Freshman Jael Leal (Gahr HS) struck out Kyle Morrell to end the inning, with four more pitchers seeing action on the day.

Sophomore shortstop Andy Vega (Mary Star of the Sea HS) clubbed a two-run home run in the seventh inning, which also brought in Francois, who was on base for the fourth time on the day. Cerritos scored their final run on an error, as freshman first baseman Moses Dokes (Santa Barbara HS) singled with an out, advanced to second base on a walk to Rodriguez and then scored on the defensive miscue.

Photos by Daryl Peterson