An eight-run seventh inning allowed propelled the Cerritos College baseball team to a 15-1 win at College of the Desert on Tuesday. The Falcons, who collected 18 hits on the day, will host Los Angeles Pierce College at noon tomorrow in the first round of the SoCal Challenge.

Taking a 5-1 lead heading into the seventh inning, Cerritos loaded the bases without the benifit of a hit. Outfielder Isaiah Rios (St. John Bosco HS) led off by reaching base on an error, while second baseman Dylan Immel (El Segundo HS) and shortstop DJ Massey (Gahr HS/Central Arizona College) were both hit by pitches. After a pitching change, third baseman Anthony Bassett (Colegio Bautista de Managua, Nicaragua/Los Angeles Harbor College) drove in the first two runs of the inning with a double followed by a pinch-hitter Mike Santos (Servite HS) reaching on an error, which allowed Massey to score. Bassett, who also advanced to third, came home on a wild pitch.

The inning continued when outfielder Nico Briones (Long Beach Millikan HS) drew a walk before catcher Alonso Reyes (Culver City HS) slapped out a single. The bases were loaded after first baseman Juan Garcia (Narbonne HS) was hit by a pitch. However, designated hitter Marco Lopez (Narbonne HS/Vanguard University) cleared the bases with a grand slam, which made it a 13-1 lead.

The grand slam was the first by a Falcons player since George Sanchez hit one against Los Angeles Harbor College in 2008.

Sophomore starting pitcher Franky Lopez (Dominguez HS) scattered seven hits over six innings to earn the win, while relief pitchers Daniel Saenz (Warren HS) and Nick Toney (Cerritos HS/East Los Angeles College) combined to toss the final three innings.

Five different players had multi-hit games, led by Massey and Bassett, who each had three hits. Massey scored four times, while Bassett had a pair of RBI. Lopez finished with two hits and four RBI, with outfielder Ricky Ahumada (Torrance HS) driving in three runs.