UPDATE: The Falcons will take on #7-seeded Santiago Canyon College in the Super Regional. Game 1 of the best-of-3 series will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Friday at Cerritos College.

With their 8-1 win over Los Angeles Mission College on Saturday, the Cerritos College softball team has advanced to the Super Regional for the first time since 2017. The #2-seeded Falcons (32-10), winners of eight games in a row, swept the series against the #15-seeded Eagles (24-18). Cerritos will play the winner of the College of the Canyons-Santiago Canyon series, with Game 1 of their Best-of-3 series to be played at Nancy Kelly Field at 2:00 p.m. on Friday.

The Eagles got on the board first with their lone run of the game in the top of the third inning. Falcon pitcher Samantha Islas (Roosevelt HS) started the game by striking out five batters through the first two innings, but also issued a pair of walks. A one-out walk to LA Mission pitcher Lizbeth Mora proved to be costly, as she came home on a double from Cristabelle Alvarado. After allowing the hit, Islas (23-6) retired 13 of the final 15 batters she faced.

Cerritos responded to the run by the Eagles in the top of the inning with a pair of their own in the bottom of the stanza. Freshman catcher Vicky Najera (El Rancho HS) led off with a double and moved to third base on a single by freshman second baseman Alyssa Sotelo (El Rancho HS). The bases were loaded when freshman outfielder Negasse Williams (Aliso Niguel HS) laid down a bunt for an infield single. After the second out was recorded on a fielder's choice at the plate, a pair of pinch-hitters drove in the two runs in the inning. Freshman Alyssa Porras (Downey HS) recorded her first collegiate hit with an RBI single through the left side, while freshman Ariana Hamilton (Downey HS) drew a bases loaded walk. 

The Falcons had no problem getting runners on base against Mora, but stranded eight runners through the first three innings.

Sotelo, who concluded the series going 6-for-6 with a walk and four runs scored, clubbed a solo home run with two outs in the fourth inning for a 3-1 lead. They increased the lead to 4-1 when freshman shortstop Miranda Diaz (California HS) laced a single with two outs and came home on a double by freshman third baseman Brooklyn Bedolla (Mayfair HS).

In the sixth inning, Cerritos put the game out of reach, as they scored four runs, with the assistance of two Eagles error on one play. After the first three batters reached base, a force out at the plate was followed by a sacrifice fly from freshman outfielder Alyssa Capps (Downey HS). Diaz followed with an RBI single, with Bedolla driving in her second run in as many innings with a two-out base hit to close out the scoring.

Photo courtesy of Ramon Acosta/Talon Marks