On Friday, the Cerritos College softball team was showing some success at the plate in their first three plate appearances against host Santiago Canyon College. But after opening up a 2-1 lead, the Falcons saw the Hawks score eight times in the next two innings and suffered a 9-2 non-conference loss. Looking to break a two-game skid, the team will host East Los Angeles College on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m., which will also be an opportunity for the Falcons to pick up their first South Coast Conference win.

The game started with sophomore outfielder Itzel Soto (Long Beach Millikan HS) leading off with a solo home run in her first game at the top of the lineup. The Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the second inning, with Cerritos pushing another run across the plate in the top of the third inning. Soto walked with two outs and came around to score when sophomore third baseman Kayla Aros (Torrance HS) doubled down the left field line.

Santiago Canyon responded with three runs in the bottom of the stanza and broke the game open with five runs in the fourth inning. From the third inning on, the Falcons collected just four singles, including base hits from Soto and Aros to lead off the fifth inning. However, they would be stranded on the bases in the team's last scoring chance.

Freshman starting pitcher Chasity Martinez (South El Monte HS) took the loss after allowing four runs in 4 2/3 innings, while sophomore Skyler Swearingen (Mayfair HS) pitched the final 1 1/3 innings and gave up five runs (three earned).