On Tuesday in their South Coast Conference game against Rio Hondo College, the Cerritos College baseball team recorded season highs in runs and hits, as they posted a 13-2 win. The Falcons, who opened up a 10-1 lead through the first four innings, recorded 17 hits on the day. The two teams will meet at Rio Hondo (16-19, 6-13) at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Cerritos (10-24-1, 5-14) scored three times in the bottom of the first inning to take a quick lead. Freshman second baseman Andy Vega (Mary Star of the Sea HS) singled up the middle to get the stanza started, while a pair of successful bunt hits loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly from sophomore designated hitter Alex Bueno (Centennial, NV HS) plated the first run, while a throwing error on the play allowed a second run to score. Freshman catcher Daniel Mariscal, Jr. (Long Beach Poly HS) collected an RBI on a ground out for the third run of the inning.

Sophomore outfielder Hasan Standifer (San Pedro HS/Jackson State University) opened the second inning with a stand-up triple and scored on an infield ground out by freshman first baseman Dean Ormonde (Long Beach Millikan HS). It was a two-out, two-run double from Ormonde in the third inning that accounted for the team's two runs and take a 6-1 lead.

The Falcons put the game out of reach with four more runs in the fourth inning, as freshman outfielder Jason Givens (Santa Fe HS) led off with a ground rule double. After advancing to third base on a wild pitch, Givens scored on a fielder's choice from freshman outfielder Lucas Iorgulescu (Marina HS). After a single from Bueno, Cerritos scored runs on consecutive base hits from Mariscal, freshman third baseman Mike Santos (Servite HS) and Standifer.

Pitching by committee, the trio of Joseph Cossette (Laguna Hills HS), Elias Torres (Long Beach Poly HS) and Tony Lendvai (La Mirada HS) limited the Roadrunners to one run on seven hits, with freshman Steven Salazar (Sonora HS) tossing the final three innings to record his second save of the season. Torres, who tossed three scorless innings and allowed just two hits, earned the win.

The top three in the batting order accounted for eight of the team's hits, as everyone had at least one hit on the day. Vega (two runs) and Givens (three runs) each went 3-for-5, while Mariscal and Ormonde each drove in three runs.

Photos by Daryl Peterson