The Cerritos College softball team combined power and finesse in winning three of their four games at the Ventura Tournament over the weekend. The Falcons opened the tournament with a thrilling 2-0 win over Cypress College and then followed that with a 13-0, 5-inning win against Allan Hancock College. On the second day, Cerritos posted a 7-5 victory over College of the Canyons, before closing it out with a 7-0 setback against Riverside College. The team will now resume South Coast Conference play on Tuesday, when they host Long Beach City College at 3:00 p.m.
In the win over Cypress, the Falcons scored the game's only runs in the top of the sixth inning on a two-run home run from freshman second baseman Vanezza Martin Del Campo (St. Joseph HS) off Chargers pitcher Alyssa Gutierrez. After getting hits in the first four innings, Cerritos saw freshman first baseman Stephanie Lomeli (Montebello HS) single with one out. On the first pitch she saw from Gutierrez, Martin Del Campo drilled the ball over the wall for her second home run of the season.
Freshman pitcher Jessica Navarro (South Gate HS) was stellar, as she limited the Chargers to just five base hits and struck out five. She struck out Gutierrez with a runner at third base in the third to end the inning and retired two in a row in the fourth inning with a runner at third. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Cypress had runners at first and second with out outs, but Navarro got Jade Espinoza to fly out for the third out of the inning.
The bats were alive in the win over Allan Hancock, as the Falcons scored three runs in the third, seven more in the fourth and finished off the Bulldogs with three solo home runs in the fifth inning. In the game, both freshman shortstop Jenel Guadagno (Warren HS) and freshman catcher Nadine Garcia (Mayfair HS) each had three hits, while Lomeli drove in four runs. Garcia, Navarro and Martin Del Campo each hit solo home runs in the fifth inning, while Lomeli had a two-run double in the third and a two run triple in the fourth inning to account for her four RBI. Freshman pitcher Korrin Soldan (Katella HS) pitched a four-hit shutout for the win.
In the first inning of their game against College of the Canyons on the second day, Cerritos opened up by scoring five runs in the top of the first inning, with the big hit being a two-run base hit from freshman outfielder Cecily Garcia (St. Joseph HS). In the inning, the Falcons swiped six bases and finished with seven in the game. After Cerritos jumped out to a 7-0 lead, they seemed to go on cruise control, but the Cougars put it into another gear in the final two innings, as they scored all five of their runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Navarro pitched the first four innings and shut down College of the Canyons, while Soldan came on for the final three innings and allowed all five runs. In the seventh, the Cougars had a runner at third base after an RBI triple, but Soldan got a fly ball out to end the game.
Freshman designated hitter Charlee Cox (Warren HS) led the team with three hits and two RBI, while Lomeli also had three hits for the Falcons. Freshman third baseman Katie Colln (Mayfair HS) added two hits and an RBI, as did Martin Del Campo.
Things seemed to fall apart against Riverside, as the team didn't get their first hit until the fifth inning and were trailing, 5-0. Soldan was victimized by three Falcon errors, which led to three unearned runs. Guadagno was the only player to reach base twice, as she walked in the fourth and singled and stole a base in the sixth.
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