Freshman starting pitcher Samantha Islas (Roosevelt HS) tossed her ninth complete game of the season and her third shutout, as the Cerritos College softball team defeated East Los Angeles College, 4-0 at Nancy Kelly Field on Tuesday. The Falcons (17-6, 9-2), who have a busy week with four more games to be played, travel to Los Angeles Harbor College for a 3:00 p.m. South Coast Conference game on Thursday.

Islas (13-3), who limited the Huskies (11-13, 4-7) to just two hits, also struck out four batters. She gave up a lead-off single to Irene Dorado, with the second hit also coming against Dorado in the sixth inning. In between, Islas retired 16 batters in a row.

Cerritos took advantage of several East Los Angeles pitching miscues to help them in their run production. Freshman first baseman Richere Leduc (California HS) led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, while freshman second baseman Alyssa Sotelo (El Rancho HS) followed with a double. Leduc came home on a wild pitch, with Sotelo scoring on an infield out by freshman third baseman Brooklyn Bedolla (Mayfair HS).

They looked to add to their lead in the third, but left runners on second and third, while they finally doubled their lead with a pair of runs in the fifth inning.

Freshman outfielder Alyssa Capps (Downey HS) led off with a bunt single and stole second base. Leduc drew a walk, with both runners advancing on a wild pitch. Sotello made it a 3-0 game with an RBI single, with Leduc scoring on a passed ball.

Sotello went 3-for-3 on the day, with the top of the batting order accounting for five of the team's six hits.

Photos by Daryl Peterson