After scoring twice in the top of the fifth inning, the Cerritos College softball team held off host Ventura College to record a 4-3 non-conference win on Tuesday. The Falcons (2-0) will open South Coast Conference play on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. when they travel to Rio Hondo College.

Trailing 3-2 heading into the top of the fifth inning, freshman Kara Spoolstra (Mayfair HS) reached base on an error and advanced to second base on the play. With two outs, sophomore Itzel Soto (Long Beach Millikan HS) tied the game with an RBI double, followed by freshman Dominique Jimenez (El Rancho HS), who drove in Soto with a single in what turned out to be the game-winning run.

Freshman pitcher Chasity Martinez (South El Monte HS) came on in relief of sophomore starter Skyler Swearingen (Mayfair HS), who pitched the first two innings. Martinez tossed the final five innings to earn the win after allowing one run on five hits. She gave up her run in the fourth inning, but got out of a jam on a double play with one of the outs coming at home. After retiring seven straight batters, Martinez surrendered a one-out triple in the seventh inning, which was forced out at home on a fielder's choice with the next batter. An error two batters later didn't hurt her, as she retired the next batter to end the game.

Soto went 2-for-2 with two RBI, while Destiny Ochoa (Norwalk HS) added a pair of hits in the win.