Playing four games in two days at the Bakersfield Tournament, the Cerritos College softball team won three out of four contests. The Falcons posted wins over Saddleback College and Santa Barabara City College by 9-0 scores on Saturday and followed that with a 4-2 loss to Riverside City College on Sunday and concluded the day with a 21-5 victory over the host Renegades. Cerritos (17-8) will resume South Coast Conference play on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. when they host Long Beach City College.

Cerritos 9, Saddleback 0: The Falcons broke open a close 2-0 game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth and then ended the game with four more in the sixth inning. Freshman pitcher Jamie Ramirez (El Rancho HS) recorded an RBI single in the fifth and followed that with a two-run double in the sixth inning before sophomore first baseman Andrea Arellano (Downey HS) ended the game with a two-run home run to enact the eight-run mercy rule. Ramirez, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, earned the win in the circle, while Arellano drove in four runs.

Cerritos 9, Santa Barbara City 0: Late-inning run support turned another close 2-0 score into a mercy-rule win, with Arellano clubbing a solo home run in a three-run sixth inning and had three hits in the game. Ramirez continued her clutch hitting with a two-run single in the fourth inning, and five other batters drove in runs against the Vaqueros. Sophomore Lily Cornejo (Paramount HS) picked up the pitching win with four innings of shutout work before sophomore Kayla Klein (La Habra HS/Texas A&M University) tossed the final two innings.

Riverside 4, Cerritos 2: The Tigers broke open a 2-2 game with single runs in the fifth and sixth inning off Klein, who took the loss after coming on in relief of Ramirez. Freshman Ariana Hernandez (Santa Fe HS) went 3-for-4 on the day and scored once, as the Falcons left 12 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth inning, sophomore catcher Katie Caraballo (El Rancho HS/Fullerton CC) flew out to end a threat, while sophomore Julia Mendoza (Los Altos HS) struck out to end the sixth inning.

Cerritos 21, Bakersfield 5: It was a 10-0 Falcon lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning and it looked like the game would end with on the eight-run mercy rule. However, the Renegades scored five times against freshman relief pitcher Katherine Flores (El Rancho HS) to extend the game. The Falcons went on to score 11 runs in the top of the seventh inning and finished the game with 21 hits. Freshman Haley Whitney (Warren HS) went 6-for-6 at the plate with six RBI and three runs scored to lead the way for Cerritos, while Ramirez was 3-for-4 with five RBI and three doubles. Hernandez scored four times, with freshman Danah Vasquez (Santa Fe HS) going 3-for-3 at the plate and scoring five runs.

Photo by Daryl Peterson