Softball: Power numbers continue in 21-1 conference win

File Photo: Camille Manzo (24) his a home run in her second consecutive game
File Photo: Camille Manzo (24) his a home run in her second consecutive game

On Tuesday, the Cerritos College softball team saw seven of their 19 hits go for extra bases in their 21-1, 5-inning South Coast Conference win over Los Angeles Harbor College. The Falcons (21-7, 10-3) are just one game out of first place in conference play and will host Pasadena City College at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.

It was a 4-1 Cerritos lead after the first two innings until the Falcons erupted for 10 runs in the third inning and added seven more runs in the fifth inning. They finished with 19 hits, with both sophomore second baseman Jenny Collazo (Paramount HS) and sophomore shortstop Camille Manzo (La Habra HS/Sterling (KS) College) each clubbing two-run home runs. It was Collazo's round-tripper in the second inning that gave the team a 4-1 lead.

Manzo led off the second inning with a double and scored on the home run, while she walked and scored in her first trip to the plate in the third inning before closing out the 10-run stanza with a home run in the second game in a row. She capped off her 4-for-4 day with an RBI single in the fifth inning.

Freshman pitcher Kristen Voller (Norco HS) allowed the lone Seahawks run in the bottom of the first inning, while freshman Jissel Caballero (Warren HS) tossed the final three innings to earn the win. Caballero also added a pair of hits at the plate, while Voller singled and drove in a run when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in two plate appearances in the fifth inning.

Sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Kutzke (Los Alamitos HS/University of Montana) and freshman outfielder Nathalie Mendia (South Gate HS) both drove in a pair of runs, with seven other players driving in one run each.