On Tuesday, the Cerritos College softball team honored their sophomores at the final regular season home game, which was against Los Angeles Harbor College. The second-year players responded by collecting 13 of the Falcons 14 hits in an 8-2 South Coast Conference win. The victory was the ninth in a row for Cerritos (25-9, 12-6), who have a huge conference game at El Camino College on Thursday. The Falcons trail the Warriors by one game for third place in the competitive SCC and a win will pull them into a tie.

Cerritos got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning when sophomore outfielder Jazmine Macias (La Mirada HS) singled and stole second base. With two outs, sophomore first baseman Nadia Landeros (Warren HS/Rio Hondo College) laced a triple inside the right field line, while she came home on an RBI single from sophomore designated player Celeste Carbajal (Mayfair HS).

The Seahawks (11-24, 3-14) were able to tie the game in the top of the third inning on a two-run home run from Evelyn Iniguez. However, the two hits LA Harbor got in the second inning would be all they would collect against sophomore pitcher Reanna Carranza (El Rancho HS), who retired 13 of the final 14 batters she faced to earn the win.

The bottom of the third was a three-run inning for the Falcons, as Macias led off with a walk and scored on a double by sophomore third baseman Natalie Basurto (Walnut HS). Then, with two outs, a double by sophomore catcher Jimena Velazquez (Fullerton Union HS) plated the second run of the inning, with freshman pinch-hitter Natalie Fraijo (Charter Oak HS) driving in a run with a double.

Basurto continued to swing a hot bat, as she drove in sophomore outfielder Jocelyn Doan (Walnut HS), who led off the fourth inning with a single and moved to second base on a passed ball. It was Basurto who also drove in the final two runs of the game, as she laced a single in the fifth inning that scored freshman outfielder Morgan Fontela (Long Beach Millikan HS) and Doan.

Basurto finished the game 3-for-4 with four RBI, while Carbajal was also 3-for-4 on the day. Landeros, Velazquez and Doan all had a pair of hits in the win.

Photos by Daryl Peterson