With their 13-5, 5-inning win over Southwestern College, the Cerritos College softball team has advanced to the Southern California Super Regional next weekend. The Falcons (30-12), seeded #5, swept the #12-seeded Jaguars (24-17-1) and will now play at Cypress College in a four-team, double-elimination tournament to determine who advances to the CCCAA State Championships. Their first opponent and game time have not been determined yet.

With a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the second inning, the Falcons put five runs on the board to open up a 6-0 lead. Four consecutive RBI singles helped Cerritos put some distance between them and Southwestern. Even after the Jaguars scored twice in the top of the third inning, which chased freshman starting pitcher Jissel Caballero (Warren HS), the Falcons put three more runs on the board in the fourth inning.

In the fourth inning, sophomore shortstop Camille Manzo (La Habra HS/Sterling (KS) University) reached base on an error to start the inning. After stealing second base, she scored on a single by Caballero, while sophomore third baseman Jenny Navarro (Warren HS) drew a walk. A single by freshman first baseman Kylee Brown (Mayfair HS) loaded the bases for sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Kutzke (Los Alamitos HS/University of Montana), who drove in a run with an infield single. The third run came in on a single by sophomore outfielder Jezeree Misaalefua (Carson HS/Long Beach CC).

Southwestern scored three more times in the fifth inning on a three-run home run off freshman pitcher Kristen Voller (Norco HS), who earned the win in the circle. The Falcons ended the game on the eight-run mercy rule with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Sophomore second baseman Jenny Collazo (Paramount HS) started with a solo home run, with Manzo hitting a single. Freshman outfielder Kimberly Olivas (Warren HS) was hit by a pitch. With one out, Navarro singled to left field, and with Brown at the plate, a passed ball scored Olivas. Brown drove in a run with an infield single before Kutzke ended the game with an RBI single.

Cerritos finished with 16 hits on the day, with Brown and Kutzke (2 RBI) going 3-for-4, while Manzo (2 runs), Olivas (2 runs), Caballero (3 RBI, 2 runs) and Navarro (2 runs) all had a pair of hits.