Knowing they would need to defeat #1-seeded Mt. San Antonio College twice on Saturday to advance to the 2nd Round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs, the Cerritos College softball team was able to come up with one win before a 4-0 loss ended their season. The Falcons (22-21), seeded #17 for the playoffs, opened the day with an 8-4 win, which forced a winner-take-all Game 3 in their best-of-three series. It was the first win for Cerritos over the Mounties (38-5) since an 8-6, 8-inning win in 2014, and snapped a 15-game losing streak.

Game 2 - Mt. SAC scored in each of the first three innings to take a 4-0 lead against freshman pitcher Skyler Swearingen (Mayfair HS), who would settle down and keep them off the board for the final four innings. Heading into the top of the fifth inning, the Falcons were able to get things going with two outs. Freshman third baseman Sophia Collazo (Paramount HS) singled with one out and advanced to second base after an error kept the inning alive. The bases were loaded after sophomore shortstop Tena Spoolstra (Mayfair HS) drew a walk. Freshman outfielder Haley Davis (Mayfair HS) then dropped in an RBI single before sophomore designated player Kayla Hernandez (Santa Fe HS) drove a ball under the glove of Mountie third baseman Ciara Granado, which plated two more runs. Freshman outfielder Itzel Soto (Long Beach Millikan HS) then gave Cerritos a 5-3 lead with a two-run triple.

Swearingen, who earned the win with the complete game, got the final 11 outs of the game on pop-ups and fly balls and limited Mt. SAC to five singles and a walk. The Falcons added three more insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning, with Hernandez driving a two-run double, while sophomore outfielder Victoria Medina (Whittier HS/Rio Hondo College) added an RBI single. Davis finished the game 3-for-4, while Hernandez drove in four runs.

Game 3 - With the winner advancing to the Super Regional next weekend, Mt. SAC got on the board with solo home runs in the second and third innings off sophomore pitcher Sierra Gerdts (Montebello HS), who also pitched the first game of the series. The Mounties were able to string together several bloop hits in the fifth and sixth innings off Swearingen to score single runs, who came on in relief in the fourth inning. 

Cerritos put two runners on base in the first inning on a single by Spoolstra, while Hernandez was hit by a pitch. Soto then grounded out to end the scoring threat. The Falcons were limited to just three hits and one walk, with Spoolstra accounting for two of the hits.