Softball: Cerritos seeded #2 for Regional Playoffs

Cerritos is seeded #2 for SoCal Regional Playoffs
Cerritos is seeded #2 for SoCal Regional Playoffs

After completing their regular season with a 30-10 record and second place finish in the South Coast Conference, the Cerritos College softball team was seeded #2 for the upcoming Southern California Regional Playoffs. The #2 seed is the highest for a Falcons team since 2010 when they were the #1-seeded team. The first round of the regional playoffs is a best-of-three series and will take place at Nancy Kelly Field next Friday and Saturday. Game 1 will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, while Game 2 is slated for noon on Saturday. If a Game 3 is necessary, it will take place 30 after the conclusion of Game 2.

Because this is a CCCAA-sanctioned post-season event, tickets will need to be purchased for the games. General admission (ages 12-60) will cost $12.00, while $8.00 tickets will be for anyone older than 60, high school and college students with proper ID and children 11 and younger.

Cerritos will play the higher remaining seed after the two play-in games on Tuesday. Those play-in games consister of #15-seeded Los Angeles Mission College (23-17) taking on #18-seeded Barstow College (20-13), along with #16-seeded Moorpark College (29-9) hosting #17-seeded Chaffey College (28-12).

Earlier this season, Cerritos defeated Los Angeles Mission, 5-4 in a game played at Nancy Kelly Field. The Falcons trailed 3-1 through 3 1/2 innings and won the game on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning, freshman catcher Vicky Najera (El Rancho HS) led off with a double off the left field wall. She moved to third on a ground out by freshman third baseman Brooklyn Bedolla (Mayfair HS), while a walk to freshman designated player Maddy Guillen (La Puente HS) and an error loaded the bases with one out. Freshman pinch-hitter Makayla Torres (Sonora HS) stepped up and laced the first pitch she saw up the middle to drive home the winning run.

They also posted a 7-4 win over Chaffey, as the Falcons turned a 3-1 lead into a 7-1 advantage in the fifth inning when freshman outfielder Negasse Williams (Aliso Niguel HS) got everything started with a single, followed by a double from freshman pinch-hitter Malia Pieper (St. Paul HS). Freshman shortstop Miranda Diaz (California HS) doubled in the first run of the inning, with freshman pinch-hitter Ariana Hamilton (Downey HS) following with an RBI single. Freshman first baseman Richere Leduc (California HS) finished off the scoring with a two-run single.

The Falcons lead the series against the LA Mission, 4-0, while they have never faced Barstow College. Cerritos holds a 20-4 series advantage over Chaffey and are 11-7 against Moorpark lifetime.

Complete bracket HERE