When the Cerritos College softball team has been able to provide early run support, they have been able to be successful. On Saturday in their non-conference make-up game against Fullerton College at Nancy Kelly Field, the Falcons (6-5) scored five runs in the first two innings before eventually posting a 12-2, 5-inning win over the Hornets. Cerritos will now host Pasadena City College at 3:00 p.m. in a South Coast Conference game.

Walks and aggressive baserunning also aided the Falcons in their success, which started in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman Arianna Hernandez (Santa Fe HS) led off with a walk and stole second base before eventually scoring on a base hit by sophomore second baseman Regina Ayala (Santa Fe HS/University of Louisiana at Monroe). Ayala made it a 2-0 lead on a base hit by freshman Stephanie Olivas (Warren HS) and came home when Fullerton right fielder Elizabeth Garcia mishandled the ball.

Sophomore pitcher Lily Cornejo (Paramount HS) earned her first win of the season by pitching three innings and surrendered one run on three hits before freshman Jamie Ramirez (El Rancho HS) came on to toss the final two innings.

Sophomore catcher Katie Caraballo (El Rancho HS/Fullerton College) and Olivas each collected two hits on the day, while Hernandez drew a pair of walks a scored twice. Freshman first baseman Danah Vasquez (Santa Fe HS) scored three times and drew a pair of walks, while freshman third baseman Ariana Mejia (Gahr HS) drove home a pair of runs.

Photo by Daryl Peterson