For the second game in a row, the Cerritos College softball team used a big inning to put some distance between them and their opponent on their way to a five-inning mercy rule win. On Wednesday, the Falcons scored eight times in their win over Riverside and then put nine on the board in the third inning, as they handed El Camino a 15-3 South Coast Conference defeat on Thursday. Cerritos (22-9, 12-2), winners of 10 of their last 13 games, will travel on Tuesday to Los Angeles Harbor College for a 3:00 p.m. contest.

The Warriors (13-17, 8-6) did score a single run in the bottom of the first inning to counter the two Falcon runs in the top of the stanza when freshman Jamie Ramirez (El Rancho HS) doubled in a run and Haley Whitney (Warren HS) singled her home. But it was the third inning that put the game out of reach, with Ramirez (4-for-5, four RBI) driving in a pair with a base hit, as did sophomore catcher Katie Caraballo (El Rancho HS/Fullerton College) and freshman third baseman Ariana Mejia (Gahr HS). The team slapped out eight hits in the inning and took advantage of a pair of El Camino errors.

On the day, nine different players had at least one hit with Mejia (3-for-4, three RBI), Whitney (2-for-4), sophomore shortstop Ashley Miller (West Torrance HS/North Platte, NE CC) and freshman outfielder Arianna Hernandez (Santa Fe HS) all chipping in with a pair of hits. Hernandez also scored three runs and stole a pair of bases.

Sophomore pitcher Kayla Klein (La Habra HS/Texas A&M University) earned the win, while Ramirez tossed a pair of innings and freshman Katherine Flores (El Rancho HS) also pitched one inning.

Photo by Daryl Peterson