The Cerritos College softball team moved one step closer to advancing to the state championships after an 8-2 win on Saturday afternoon in the first game of a best two-out-of-three series against Riverside College. The Falcons (33-9-1), the #4-seeded team in Southern California, needs just one more win over the #6-seeded Tigers (35-17) to move on to next weekend. The second game of the series will be played on Sunday at noon, with a tie-breaker to be played at 2:00 p.m. if necessary. It was also the fourth time these teams have faced each other this season, and the win by Cerritos evens their series, 2-2.
Several defensive miscues on the same play by Riverside led to two of the Falcons three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman shortstop Jenel Guadagno (Warren HS) led off the inning with a walk and stole second base. After an out and a base hit by freshman pitcher Jessica Navarro (South Gate HS) put runners on first and third, Tigers pitcher Brianna Olivas was called for a balk, which allowed Guadagno run to cross the plate. Freshman second baseman Vanezza Martin Del Campo (St. Joseph HS) followed with a base hit and was advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by freshman first baseman Stephanie Lomeli (Montebello HS), which put runners at second and third.
Then, with freshman designated hitter Charlee Cox (Warren HS) at the plate, Riverside catcher Quinn Redman let a pitch get past her, which allowed Navarro to score on the passed ball. When Redman wasn't able to come up with the loose ball quickly, Martin Del Campo continued around third base and was safe at the plate when the throw to Olivas was dropped for an error, giving Cerritos an early 3-0 lead.
The Falcons scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning in a more conventional way. Navarro led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch, which was followed by a single from Martin Del Campo. After Lomeli was walked to load the bases, Cox drilled a two-run single into the right-centerfield gap. Freshman third baseman Katie Colln (Mayfair HS) walked to load the bases, which set up a bases loaded single by Guadagno, scoring the third run.
Leading 6-0, Navarro had no trouble winning her school-record 28th game of the season, as she allowed six hits and struck out five. The Tigers picked up a run in the top of the second inning, as Danielle Payne singled and eventually came home on a base hit by Leesa Galvan. In that inning, Navarro recorded that final out with runners on first and third. Navarro only allowed one base hit over the next four innings, before Riverside scored their second run, which was also on an RBI single from Galvan.
Cox closed out the scoring for Cerritos in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run home run, her first of the season. On the day, Martin Del Campo went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, while Cox was 2-for-4 with four RBI. For Riverside, Galvan went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
