Each time the Cerritos College softball team scored to get back into their game against Chaffey College at Nancy Kelly Field on Thursday, they found themselves trailing in the next inning. The end result was an 11-5 South Coast Conference crossover game loss against the Panthers, which drops the team's record to 11-8 on the year. Weather permitting, the Falcons will host both Palomar College (11:00 a.m.) and Mission College (1:30 p.m.) on Saturday. The day will also serve as a 10-year reunion for the 2008 CCCAA State Championship team.

The day started on a strong note, as sophomore catcher Briana Lopez (Norwalk HS) led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run, her ninth round-tripper of the season. Chaffey finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning when they scored four runs off freshman starting pitcher Sierra Gerdts (Montebello HS). The Falcons responded in the bottom of the stanza by tying the game with three runs of their own.

In the inning, freshman outfielder Brianna Spoolstra (Mayfair HS) led off by drawing a walk and after both freshman first baseman Keira Bolinas (Torrance HS) and freshman designated player Nicoal Magdaleno (La Habra HS) singled, the bases were loaded. Sophomore outfielder Rain Vega (La Mirada HS) drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, while freshman pinch-hitter Kayla Hernandez (Santa Fe HS) plated a pair of runs with a two-out single.

After taking a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning, the Panthers posted five more runs in the sixth inning to take a commanding 10-4 advantage. Cerritos was able to score once in the bottom of the seventh inning and ended the game with the bases loaded.

Lopez, Bolinas and Magdaleno all had three hits on the day for the Falcons.

Photos by Daryl Peterson