In their first meeting of the season against rival Mt. San Antonio College, the Cerritos College softball team hit three home runs on their way to a 10-2, six-inning win at Nancy Kelly Field on Tuesday. The Falcons, who have had a hard time beating the Mounties recently, clubbed three home runs in their South Coast Conference opener, including a grand slam by sophomore shortstop Stephanie Olivas (Warren HS) in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game. Cerritos (2-3, 1-0) will now travel to Pasadena City College on Thursday for a 2:00 p.m. conference game.

Olivas hit her first home run of the game in the bottom of the first inning to get the Falcons on top. Freshman outfielder Joanna Perruccio (Long Beach Wilson HS) led off with a walk against starting pitcher Natalie Sanchez and then stole second base. Olivas then drove a pitch over the right-center field fence for a home run.

The Falcons extended their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning when sophomore outfielder Arianna Hernandez (Santa Fe HS) singled with one out, stole second base, advanced to third on a ground out and then scored on a wild pitch. Mt. SAC (2-2) got to within 3-2 until freshman catcher Krystal Purkey (Gahr HS) clubbed a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The round-tripper came right after sophomore third baseman Ariana Mejia (Gahr HS) gave Cerritos a 4-2 lead with an RBI single.

Olivas, who drove in six of the team's runs, ended the game with a grand slam off relief pitcher Lorena Helquera. Walks to sophomore outfielder Danah Vasquez (Santa Fe HS) and Perruccion, along with a single from Hernandez, set the table for the game-ending grand slam.

Sophomore pitcher Jamie Ramirez (El Rancho HS) earned her first win of the season by tossing all six innings and allowed two runs on three hits. She was also 1-for-2 at the plate with a walk.

Photos by Daryl Peterson