On Thursday, the Cerritos College softball team scored their second most runs of the season, as they defeated Los Angeles Harbor College, 18-1 in a five-inning South Coast Conference game. The Falcons (16-7, 3-1) produced their runs on just 15 hits, with eight of them going for extra bases. This weekend, the team will head down south to place games at Southwester College (10:00 a.m.) and Grossmont College (2:00 p.m.) on Saturday.

After spotting the Seahawks (0-15, 0-5) a 1-0 lead after their first plate appearance, Cerritos saw their first three batters hit doubles to quickly take a 2-1 lead. Sophomore outfielder Kimberly Olivas (Warren HS), sophomore first baseman Jissel Caballero (Warren HS) and sophomore shortstop Kylee Brown (Mayfair HS) all hit the ball hard, which continued throughout the game.

Cerritos took advantage of three LA Harbor errors in the second inning, which aided them in their seven-run outburst. The big hits in the inning were a two-run single by freshman third baseman Rain Vega (La Mirada HS), followed by freshman pitcher Carly Gutierrez (Santa Fe HS) clubbing her first home run of the season, a two-run blast.

The power continued in the next inning, as Vega smashed a three-run home run, her second of the season, with Brown (pictured, left) adding a two-run single. Tied for the state lead in home runs with nine, Brown added a two-run home run in the fourth inning and her six RBI moves her into second place in the state with 41.

Brown, Vega and Gutierrez all had three hits on the day, with Caballero scoring four times, with four other players getting plated three times. Gutierrez (3-1) earned the win in the circle after surrendering four hits, but struck out six. She also drove in three runs.

Photos by Daryl Peterson