The Cerritos College baseball team's quest for their first South Coast Conference championship since 2003 took a major hit on Thursday when they dropped a 7-3 decision at El Camino College. The loss by the Falcons, who entered the week as the new #1-ranked team in Southern California, dropped their overall record to 30-8. But, more importantly, they fell to 16-3 in the conference, while there is a tight race for the top four spots. Behind Cerritos, Los Angeles Harbor College is now 13-4 (21-16 overall), followed by East Los Angeles College (26-11) and the Warriors (25-12), who are both 12-5. The Falcons will now host El Camino on Saturday at noon, weather permitting, before they enter a two-game series with East LA.
Against the Warriors on Thursday, Cerritos fell behind 2-0 in the second inning after a pair of solo home runs were hit off freshman starter John Ortega (Downey HS). In his five-plus innings of work, Ortega had his most difficult outing of the year, as he allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits, with four of them going for extra bases. Sophomore Lalo Ceniceros (El Rancho HS) pitched the next two innings, while freshman Erick Campos (Norwalk HS), who saw his first action since February 24, pitched the final inning.
After falling behind 4-0, the Falcons picked up two runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut their deficit in half. Freshman first baseman Trever Blood (La Mirada HS) led off the a double, followed by sophomore catcher Phil Rodriguez (Norwalk HS) reaching base on a throwing error by Warrior starter Jeff McKinley, which allowed Blood to score. After Rodriguez was moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by freshman outfielder Anthony Topete (Norwalk HS), freshman designated hitter Guillermo Garcia (Artesia HS) drove him in with a base hit. The third run came in the ninth inning when sophomore outfielder Nick Armstrong (Marina HS) opened with a base hit before he was advanced to second on an error. After an out was recorded, Blood drove him in with a base hit.
On the day, Blood went 3-for-5, while Armstrong collected two hits.
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