After scattering single runs in three separate innings, the Cerritos College baseball team used a four-run sixth inning to help them come away with a 7-0 win over visiting College of the Desert on Friday. Seeded #1, the Falcons (33-8) now have a 1-0 lead in their best-of-3 series against the #24-seeded Roadrunners (21-20). The second game of the series will be played at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday at Kincaid Field.

Sophomore starting pitcher Derek Valdez (Los Alamitos HS) scattered nine hits and struck out nine, as he posted his fifth complete game of the season, and won his state-leading 12th game of the year. Valdez received help from his defense, as sophomore outfielder Marlon Oviedo (Colegio Parroquial San Rafael N#1, Nicaragua/Los Angeles Harbor College) threw Noah Gutierrez out at the plate, as he tried to score on a base hit in the eighth inning. A double play also ended the fifth inning after Desert recorded consecutive singles.

Cerritos was aggressive on the bases, which led to several of their runs. In the bottom of the first inning, sophomore shortstop DJ Massey (Gahr HS/Central Arizona College) led off with a walk, and on a ground out by sophomore third baseman Anthony Bassett (Colegio Bautista de Managua, Nicaragua/Los Angeles Harbor College), Massey raced around to third base. The throw to the bag by first baseman Adam Moser was high, which allowed Massey to come home and score. In the bottom of the third inning, Bassett led off with a single, moved to second base on a walk to sophomore first baseman Mike Santos (Servite HS) and then scored on a two-out base hit by freshman second baseman Dylan Immel (El Segundo HS).

Massey played a role in the team's third run in the fifth inning after he led off with a walk and raced to third base on a single by freshman catcher Alonso Reyes (Culver City HS). Bassett then followed with an RBI sacrifice fly.

College of the Desert hurt themselves in that four-run sixth inning, as they committed errors on three consecutive plays. Immel led the inning off with a bunt single and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore outfielder Nico Briones (Long Beach Millikan HS). A wild pitch moved Immel to third base, while he scored on a throwing error by third baseman Eric Arreola on a ball hit by Massey, who moved to second base on the play. Reyes followed with a single that plated Massey, with an outfield error allowing Reyes to move to second base. Bassett then drove in a run with a single and moved all the way to third on a throwing error. Freshman outfielder Isaiah Rios (St. John Bosco HS) capped off the scoring with an RBI single.

On the day, Reyes, Bassett (two RBI, two runs), Santos and Immel (RBI) all had a pair of hits, while Massey drew a pair of walks and scored three runs.