 |
|
03.15.07
- Miguel
Flores
takes
instruction
from head
coach Ken
Gaylord
before
batting.
Flores
secured a
4-1
victory
for the
Falcons
when he
pitched
the final
inning. |
|
More
Photos |
|
Cerritos College
freshman closer
Miguel Flores
(St. John Bosco
HS) found
himself in a jam in
the top of the ninth
inning against Long
Beach City College
in a South Coast
Conference baseball
game at Kincaid
Field on Thursday
afternoon. After
loading the bases,
he got Mark Ruiz to
fly out to sophomore
Andrew Baslow
(Chatsworth HS)
in left field to end
the game and
preserve a 4-1
victory. With the
win, the Falcons,
ranked #1 in
Southern California,
improve to 19-4 on
the season and 7-0
in conference play.
The Vikings, the
defending state
champions, fell to
11-13 and 4-3. After
a bye on Saturday,
Cerritos will host
Los Angeles City
College at 2:30 p.m.
on Tuesday. The 7-0
conference start is
their best since
they went 9-0 to
start the 2005 SCC
season.
After the Falcons increased their lead to 4-1 in the bottom
of the eighth inning
on a two-out base
hit by sophomore
catcher
Phil Rodriguez
(Norwalk HS),
Flores came on to
pitch the ninth
inning. He allowed a
lead-off single to
Derek Wurtz and then
hit Paul Hayes with
a pitch with one
out. After a
fielder's choice put
runners at first and
third base, A.J.
Bancroft drew a walk
to load the bases.
That set up a
showdown with Ruiz,
who was a member of
the Falcon team back
in 2004, with Flores
getting a soft fly
ball to record the
final out to pick up
his sixth save on
the year.
Cerritos opened the scoring in the bottom of the first
inning, as sophomore
outfielder
Nick Armstrong
(Marina HS)
led off the inning
with a base hit.
After a sacrifice
bunt moved him over
to second and a
ground ball advanced
him to third base,
freshman shortstop
Jerry Pena (Los
Altos HS) drove
Armstrong home with
a base hit up the
middle. The same
combination gave the
Falcons a 2-0 lead
in the third inning
after Armstrong, who
had four hits on the
day, singled, moved
to second base on a
ground out and
scored when Pena
singled to
left-center field.
Sophomore starting pitcher
Robbie Dominguez
(El Rancho HS)
worked smoothly
through the first
three innings before
some control
problems got him in
trouble. Chris
Cordova opened the
fourth inning with a
walk and stole
second base. He was
advanced to third
base on a wild pitch
before Sean Beckly
drew a walk. The
Vikings cut the
Falcon lead to 2-1
when Wurtz grounded
out, allowing
Cordova to score.
It wasn't until the seventh inning before Long Beach City
could mount another
drive, as Wurtz and
Curtis Thompson
opened the inning
with singles.
Dominguez got Hayes
on a strike out and
got pinch-hitter
Jason Walker to
ground out, which
advanced the two
runners. Sophomore
Kevin Camacho
(Santa Fe HS)
came on in relief of
Dominguez and got
Bancroft to ground
out to first baseman
Trever Blood
(La Mirada HS)
to end the inning.
In his 6 2/3
innings, Dominguez
allowed five hits
and struck out five
to earn the win and
improve his record
to 6-0 on the year.
On the day, Armstrong went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and
an RBI, while Pena
drove in two runs on
two hits. Freshman
infielder
Guillermo Garcia
(Artesia HS)
also collected two
hits for the
Falcons. Wurtz led
the Vikings with
three of their seven
hits in the game.
|
