With their backs against the wall all weekend, the Cerritos College softball team came within one game of pulling off one of the most improbable feats anyone has every seen in California Community College softball history. Needing to win five straight games at the California Community Colleges Commission on Athletics Softball Championships at Big League Dreams Park in Chino Hills after losing to Cypress College on Friday night, the Falcons won twice on Saturday and came back on Sunday to extend #1-ranked Mt. San Antonio College to a winner-take-all game before falling, 4-0. Cerritos opened Sunday with an exciting 3-2 win over Cypress, which eliminated the Chargers and sent the Falcons to the championship round, where they had to defeat Mt. SAC twice to win the state championship. After dismantling the Mounties, 9-1 in the first game, Cerritos ran out of steam in the second game, as they dropped a 4-0 decision. The team ended the season with a 39-11-1 record, which sets a new school record for wins in a season. It was also the best finish for any all-freshman team in the history of California Community College softball. The appearance in the state championships was also the second for the school, and first since they won the title in 1978.
The Falcons opened the day against Cypress by falling behind 1-0 when lead-off hitter Ashley Boyd hit a home run to start the game. The Charger lead didn't last very long, as Cerritos came right back and picked up three runs in the bottom of the inning. Freshman shortstop Jenel Guadagno (Warren HS) led off with a single up the middle, which was followed by a base hit up the middle by freshman catcher Nadine Garcia (Mayfair HS). The game was tied 1-1 after freshman pitcher Jessica Navarro (South Gate HS) laced a hard single up the middle, which scored Guadagno. After a wild pitch moved up the runners and an out was recorded, freshman first baseman Stephanie Lomeli (Montebello HS) singled home the second run of the inning before freshman designated hitter Charlee Cox (Warren HS) recorded an RBI sacrifice fly.
Navarro, who pitched every inning of the seven games in which the Falcons played, shut down the speedy Chargers, who defeated her, 7-0 back on Friday. She limited them to eight hits and struck out seven batters. It was a 3-2 game after Cypress scored a run in the fifth inning when Brooke Pefley doubled with two outs and scored on a run-scoring single by Gabrielle Woody. Then, in the seventh inning, Caitlin McGrath bunted for a base hit with one out. There were runners on first and second base after Boyd singled before McGrath took third base on a fly ball out by Pefley. Boyd stole second base, which put runners on second and third with two outs before Navarro got Woody to fly out to freshman outfielder Cecily Garcia (St. Joseph HS) to end the game.
The win by the Falcons didn't come without its losses. Freshman second baseman Vanezza Martin Del Campo (St. Joseph HS), one of the team's top hitters and solid defensive players, was spiked on a play at second base and went down in excruciating pain in the seventh inning. She was forced to leave the game and it was questionable if she would be able to play in the championship game.
With a win this season already against the Mounties, the Falcons entered the championship round with confidence. Riding the arm of Navarro, Cerritos took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when a double steal resulted in freshman third baseman Katie Colln (Mayfair HS) scoring the first run. Colln singled and after Cecily Garcia laid down a bunt to advance her, the throw got away, which allowed Colln to advance to third base. Garcia then took off for second base, where the throw was late, while Colln then headed for home and beat the throw to the plate for a 1-0 lead. In the sixth inning, another Mountie miscue led to the second Cerritos run. Lomeli singled and took second base when center fielder Lucia Rodriguez tried to throw her out after rounding first base. That throw got away, allowing Lomeli to take second base. Freshman pinch-runner Candace Cabrera (El Rancho HS) then came home on another error when Colln hit a ball that was thrown away by shortstop Fran Gonzales.
After Cerritos saw the Mounties score a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, they put the game out of reach by scoring seven runs in the top of the seventh inning. They chased three pitchers in the inning, including the tournament's eventual Most Valuable Player, Mandy Pongs, as they lit her up for three runs on three hits in 1/3 of an inning. Guadagno singled to right and moved to second after Nadine Garcia was hit by a pitch. Navarro then singled to load the bases before a visibly injured Martin Del Campo stepped up and singled home two runs to give the Falcons a 4-1 lead. That was followed by an RBI single from Cox before Colln was hit by a pitch to load the bases. An RBI walk by Cecily Garcia brought a hobbling Del Campo home for another run before Guadagno closed out the scoring with a bases loaded double.
In the deciding game, the Falcons had a couple of chances to score, but just ran out of steam, as they played their seventh game in three days, compared to the Mounties, who were playing their fifth and used three different pitchers. In the first inning, Guadagno reached base on an error and advanced to third base before Martin Del Campo grounded out to end the inning. Mt. SAC scored three times in the bottom of the third inning, with one of them being unearned. Cerritos did get a two-out double from Lomeli in the fourth, but was stranded, and finished the game with just three hits and four errors.
For her efforts, Navarro was named the Most Valuable Pitcher and was selected to the All-Tournament Team. Joining her on the all-tournament team was Martin Del Campo, while Lomeli earned the tournament's Gold Glove Award for her errorless play at first base and for taking over at second base when Martin Del Campo was injured and could not continue. In addition to going 5-2 on the mound with a 1.62 ERA and 16 strikeouts, Navarro batted .408 with a tournament-leading eight RBI.
STATE TOURNAMENT AWARDS
Pitchers
Jessica Navarro –
Cerritos
Mandy Pongs – Mt. San Antonio
Amanda Monday –
Sacramento
City
Catchers
Cindy Oseguera –
Sacramento
City
Nichole Whaley – Mt. San Antonio
1B
Danielle Linke – Mt. San Antonio
Infielders
Ashley Boyd –
Cypress
Evan Ruiz - Antelope Valley
Deborah Duran – San Jose City
Vanezza Martin Del Campo -
Cerritos
Outfielders
Kimberly Connelly - College of the Siskiyous
Lucia Rodriguez – Mt. San Antonio
Jade Espinoza -
Cypress
Randee Baldwin – Mt. San Antonio
Utility Player
Katie Cornelison - Antelope Valley
Wild Cards
Gabrielle Woody –
Cypress
Nadine Garcia -
Cerritos
Most Valuable Player
Mandy Pongs –
Mt.
SAC
Most Valuable Pitcher
Jessica Navarro –
Cerritos
Golden Glove
Stephanie Lomeli –
Cerritos
Best Hitter
Ashley Boyd – Cypress
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