The Cerritos College softball team, with their backs against the wall, delivered twice on Saturday afternoon and have assured themselves no worse than a third place finish at the California Community Colleges Commission on Athletics State Championships, which are being held at Big League Dreams Park in Chino Hills. The Falcons (37-10-1) opened the day by eliminating College of the Siskiyous, 12-1 and came right back to eliminate Sacramento City College, 8-5. As a result, Cerritos will face Cypress College at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. If the Falcons defeat the Chargers, they will then have to beat South Coast Conference rival Mt. San Antonio College twice to win their second state championship in school history. The Mounties have not lost yet in the double-elimination tournament.
It didn't take long for the Falcons to state their case for playing a long day, as they put nine runs on the board against Siskiyous in the top of the first inning, with the team slapping out seven hits, which was one more than they had in their two games combined the first day. The team coasted through that game and when they faced the Panthers for the second time in as many days, things looked bleak. After two innings, it was a 3-0 Sacramento City lead, but the bats came alive for Cerritos, as they scored eight unanswered runs to post the victory.
In the win over the Panthers, the Falcons did their damage with two outs. In the top of the third inning, freshman shortstop Jenel Guadagno (Warren HS) doubled and came home on a double by freshman catcher Nadine Garcia (Mayfair HS). That was followed by a towering home run by freshman pitcher Jessica Navarro (South Gate HS), whose two-run blast not only gave Cerritos a 3-2 lead, it was also her 13th round-tripper of the season, setting a new school career record. In the fourth, freshman designated hitter Charlee Cox (Warren HS) walked with one out and advanced to second base on a passed ball. Then, with two outs, freshman outfielder Cecily Garcia (St. Joseph HS) bunted for an infield hit. On the play, Sacramento City third baseman Kayla Hayes threw the ball away trying to get Garcia, which allowed Cox to score. After a pitching change, freshman outfielder Amber Cardona (Schurr HS) singled home Garcia to give Cerritos a 5-2 lead.
It was an 8-2 game after the Falcons pushed three more runs across in the fifth inning, with freshman third baseman Katie Colln (Mayfair HS), Cecily Garcia and Cardona all collecting RBI singles.
The run production was all Navarro needed, as she pitched her second complete game of the day and fourth in two days. She surrendered 12 hits and five runs (three earned) against Sac City, but received five hits and four RBI from the bottom three batters in the lineup. At the plate, Navarro went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, while Cox drew three walks and scored twice.
Everything went right in the win over College of the Siskiyous, as the Falcons pounded out 13 hits and drew five walks. Navarro, who allowed five hits and struck out four in the circle, went 4-for-4 at the plate with five RBI. A trio of players had two hits each, which included Guadagno (run, RBI), freshman second baseman Vanezza Martin Del Campo (St. Joseph HS) and freshman first baseman Stephanie Lomeli (Montebello HS). Martin Del Campo also drove in three runs, while Cox drew two more walks and scored twice.
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