Not since their 30-0 start during the 1978 season has the Cerritos College softball team opened the season with a better record. The Falcons, who defeated four teams at the Green & Gold Tournament over the weekend, are now 11-0 on the year and prepare to open South Coast Conference action. Cerritos recorded wins over Golden West (6-0), Citrus (3-2), Santa Ana (5-3) and then saved the most exciting game for last, as they scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Antelope Valley, 2-1. The Falcons will now travel to Pasadena City College for a 3:00 p.m. game on Tuesday to start conference play. In the exciting win over the Marauders, sophomore second baseman Vanezza Martin Del Campo (St. Joseph HS) drove in sophomore outfielder Capree Williams (Paramount HS/Bethune Cookman University) with two outs on a base hit to right field. Williams, who singled and advanced to second base on a fielder’s choice, came home easily with the winning run.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the third inning, Cerritos tied the game up when Martin Del Campo tripled home Williams, who led off the inning with a double and looked to be stranded. Neither team had many scoring opportunities, although the Falcons left the bases loaded in the first inning and left runners at second base in three other innings. For Antelope Valley, they left runners at second and third base in the third inning after scoring their lone run, while sophomore pitcher Jessica Navarro (South Gate HS) surrendered two hits to start the sixth inning, but got two ground ball outs and a fly ball to end the threat.
The Falcons also received solid pitching over the weekend from sophomore Korrin Soldan (Katella HS), who won two games, as did Navarro. In the opening win over Golden West, Navarro threw a two-hitter, while she also clubbed a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning and followed it with a two-run single in the second inning.
Soldan went the first four innings in the team’s 3-2 win over Citrus, with Navarro coming on to pitch the final two innings and earn the save. After Navarro gave the team a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with an RBI double that scored sophomore shortstop Jenel Guadagno (Warren HS), freshman outfielder Jennifer Salas (California HS) drove home freshman pinch-runner Kayla Campo (Mira Costa HS) from second base with a double. The eventual game-winning run followed when sophomore catcher Nadine Garcia (Mayfair HS) brought home Martin Del Campo from third base with a sacrifice fly.
The Owls did score a run in the bottom of the fourth inning and threatened in the sixth when Garcia’s error allowed Ashley Rollice to score after she led off with a double. But Navarro shut them down the rest of the way to earn her first save of the season.
The next morning opened with the Falcons facing Santa Ana, a team they defeated just three days earlier, 7-3 in eight innings. Soldan surrendered a single run in the first inning and worked out of a jam in each inning along the way while the offense was steady and got her a lead. The Dons had a runner at third base in the second, but had her cut down at the plate on a fielder’s choice, while they advanced runners to second base in the third and fourth innings. Santa Ana took advantage of an error by Soldan in the sixth inning to score a run, while a double-steal accounted for the second run of the inning by Santa Ana. Navarro came on in the seventh inning and got the side in order for her second save in as many games.
Offensively, Lomeli had an RBI single in the third inning and a run-scoring double in the fifth inning. Cerritos took a 3-1 lead in the third after an error preceded the hit by Lomeli. In the fifth, Navarro drilled a solo home run before Martin Del Campo tripled and came home on the double by Lomeli.
