Locked in a 3-3 tie through the first four innings, the Cerritos College softball team scored four times in the fifth inning and went on to post a 7-3 win over host Chaffey College on Friday. The season-opening win for the Falcons (1-0) was their first of three road games to start the season. The team will travel to Riverside City College on Tuesday for a 2:30 p.m. game.

In the top of the fifth inning, sophomore shortstop Vicky Najera (El Rancho HS) led off with a double and then came home on a double from sophomore outfielder Morgan Fontela (Long Beach Millikan HS). Freshman outfielder Savanna Gonzalez (Whittier HS) singled, with Fontela racing to third base. After Gonzalez stole second base, sophomore Ayiana Cardenas (Walnut HS) slapped an RBI single, with freshman designated player Brianna Zarate (Legacy HS) driving in with a double. The bases were loaded for freshman outfielder Amarie Encarnacion (Norwalk HS), who drew a walk to bring home the final run of the inning.

Freshman pitcher Tatyana Cortez (La Serna HS) tossed a complete game and struck out nine batters to earn the win. She worked out of jams in the second inning, as well as a bases loaded situation in the third inning when she got Allison Waite to ground out to end the stanza. The Panthers also loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning on three consecutive two-out hits, but Cortez retired Samantha Vazquez to get out of the inning.

Zarate finished the day 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, while Najera and Fontela both recording a pair of hits and drove in a run.