After locking down the South
Coast Conference title for the
second year in a row, the
Cerritos College baseball team
was rewarded with a #6-seed in
the upcoming Southern California
Regional Baseball Playoffs. The
Falcons (29-14) will host
#11-seeded Bakersfield College
(28-16) in a best-of-three
series at Kincaid Field, with
the first game slated for Friday
at 3:00 p.m. The second game
will be played at 11:00 a.m. on
Saturday, while a third will
follow at 2:00 p.m. if
necessary.
Cerritos did
not face the Renegades this
year, who finished in second
place in the Western State
Conference South Division. Last
year, the Falcons received the
#5-seed and were upset in two
games by Moorpark College. The
difference this season is that
Cerritos enters the post-season
with wins in 10 of their last 11
games, while last year they
limped in after dropping four of
their final six regular season
games.
Bakersfield
boasts their own “Killer B’s”
lineup, with Casey Brown (.437,
48 RBI), Brandon Boren (.409, 45
RBI) and Jeff Burleson (.362, 44
RBI) leading the team in
hitting, while the Renegades
boast a .326 team batting
average. Kyle Witten is their
ace on the mound, as he has
posed an 11-2 record and a 3.14
ERA.
The Falcons
have shown a knack for winning
games when their backs are
against the wall, as they scored
two runs in the bottom of the
ninth inning to defeat El Camino
College a week and a half ago,
while they plated six in the
bottom of the eighth to come
back and defeat Mt. San Antonio
College, 12-8 in their final
regular season game. Freshman
George Sanchez (Gahr
HS) leads the team with a
.413 batting average and has
driven in 35 runs on 38 hits,
while starting the final 26
games of the season. Sophomore
shortstop
Jerry Pena (Los Altos
HS) has been clutch at the
plate with his .348 average,
while sophomore
Trever Blood (La
Mirada HS) leads the team in
home runs (8) and RBI 39), while
hitting at a .329 clip. The
starting pitching has been
anchored by sophomores
John Ortega (Downey
HS) and
Miguel Flores (St.
John Bosco HS), as the two
have combined for a 17-6 record
with four saves and 218
strikeouts in a combined 210.2
innings of work.
For the
complete list of post-season
matchups, go to
http://www.spincostats.com/CommunityCollegeBaseball/2008/PDF/2008SEEDING.pdf
