Sophomore outfielder Morgan Fontela (Long Beach Millikan HS) made the most of a second chance in the bottom of the fifth inning and laced a two-run double to help lead the Cerritos College softball team to a 3-0 win over visiting Los Angeles Mission College. The win by the Falcons (14-4) was their fourth in a row, as they prepare to host Pasadena City College in a South Coast Conference game at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The win was also the seventh in a row over the Eagles and 13th in the last 14 meetings.

Leading 1-0 after scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth inning, Cerritos started their rally with two outs. Freshman second baseman Marley Cortez (Gahr HS) singled up the middle, which was followed by sophomore shortstop Ayiana Cardenas (Walnut HS) drawing a walk on a 10-pitch at-bat. A close ball-four allowed Fontela to come to the plate, where she lined a 2-2 pitch against the left-centerfield wall, which allowed both runs to score.

Freshman pitcher Tatyana Cortez (La Serna HS) was keeping the Eagles (6-13) in check, as she limited them to just four hits and struck out 12 batters. She retired the first 10 batters with seven strikeouts and ended the fourth inning with her ninth strikeout on the day.

LA Mission did threaten to get on the board in the top of the sixth inning after Janae Arcos led off with a double. A strikeout was followed by a bloop double from Arianna Ramirez, with Arcos only able to advance to third base. Cortez (9-4) recorded the final out in the sixth inning and withstood a one-out double to register the final two outs, which included her 12th strikeout of the game.

Cardenas drew a pair of walks  and scored two runs, while Fontela had a pair of RBI and her sacrifice bunt in the fourth inning led to the Falcons first run of the game, which was aided by three Eagles errors in the inning.

Photos by Daryl Peterson