After taking an early 5-0 lead against Orange Coast College in a non-conference game at Nancy Kelly Field on Monday, they suddenly found themselves in a tight battle. The Pirates scored four times in the top of the fourth inning before the Falcons (20-7) closed out Orange Coast (6-16) with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 12-4 win. Cerritos will now travel to Los Angeles Harbor College for a 3:00 p.m. South Coast Conference game on Tuesday.

The seven-run fifth inning started with sophomore third baseman Jenny Navarro (Warren HS) leading off with a walk and it ended with a Navarro two-run bases loaded single that drove in the final two runs to end the game. After her walk to start the stanza, sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Kutzke (Los Alamitos HS/University of Montana) launched her fourth home run of the season to give the Falcons some breathing room.

Freshman first baseman Kylee Brown (Mayfair HS) followed with a walk, as did sophomore shortstop Camille Manzo (La Habra HS/Sterling (KS) College). After a pitching change, the two runners advanced a base on an illegal pitch, which allowed both to score on a pinch-hit base hit by freshman pinch-hitter Stephanie Chuc (El Rancho HS). A throwing error kept the inning alive for sophomore second baseman Jenny Collazo (Paramount HS), who singled in the fifth run of the inning. Freshman outfielder Kimberly Olivas (Warren HS) drew the fourth walk of the inning before Navarro ended the game.

Freshman starting pitcher Kristen Voller (Norco HS) struck out seven batters in a row through the first three innings. However, five of the next seven batters got hits, with the big blow being a three-run home run by Anna Marin. After the fourth run came home on a base hit, freshman Jissel Caballero (Warren HS) came on in relief and ended the inning.

With the game still close in the top of the fifth inning, Olivas made an exceptional running catch with a runner on first base. The runner, Emma Silvestri, was called out when she rounded second base, but did not touch the bag when going back to first base after the out, which accounted for the third out. Cerritos went on to score their seven runs in the bottom of the inning to end the game.

Photos by Daryl Peterson