For the third time in the last four years, the Cerritos College softball team swept all three South Coast Conference games it played against cross-town rival Long Beach City College. The Falcons improved their season record to 28-9-1 on the year and 10-3 in the SCC with a 6-1 victory against the Vikings on Thursday afternoon. After their loss, LBCC dropped to 22-18 on the year and 8-6 in conference play. Cerritos, ranked #4 in Southern California and #8 in the state, will close out their regular season with a home-and-home series against East Los Angeles College. The Falcons will host the Huskies on Monday at 3:00 p.m. and travel to face ELAC on Tuesday at the same time.
In the win over the Vikings, Cerritos took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning when freshman outfielder Cecily Garcia (St. Joseph HS) led off with a walk and was then sacrificed to second base by freshman outfielder Amber Cardona (Schurr HS). Freshman shortstop Jenel Guadagno (Warren HS) then singled to right field, which scored Garcia, while Guadagno moved all the way to third on an error by Viking right fielder Jessica Quintero. Freshman catcher Nadine Garcia (Mayfair HS) followed with an RBI single to account for the other run.
It was 5-0 after the Falcons picked up three more runs in the top of the fifth inning. Cardona singled before Guadagno reached on a throwing error by third baseman Mary Gonzales, which allowed Cardona to score and it moved Guadagno to second base. After Nadine Garcia reached on a fielder's choice, which cut down Guadagno at third base, freshman pitcher Jessica Navarro (South Gate HS) clubbed her ninth home run of the season. Her round-tripper ties the single-season school record for home runs and she shares that mark with Nicole Deel, who his nine during the 2005 season. Navarro is also closing in on Deel's career home run record of 12, set from 2004-05.
In addition to her offensive production, where she went 3-for-3 with three RBI, Navarro also pitched a complete-game, as she limited the Vikings to just three hits and struck out six batters. The run she allowed was unearned, as Navarro won her 23rd game of the season. The single-season record of 27 pitching wins, set by Estella Gutierrez in 1987, is also in jeopardy of being broken.
