For the second year in a row, the Cerritos College softball team swept through their four Southern California Regional Playoff games to qualify for the California Community College Athletic Association state championships. After the #2-seeded Falcons dispatched Chaffey College in the first round, they won two straight games over #7-seeded Fullerton College. After posting a 2-0 win in the first game of their best-of-three series on Saturday, Cerritos (39-5) registered a 6-0 win on Sunday. The state championships will take place next Friday through Sunday at Orange Terrace Park in Riverside. Last season, Cerritos reached the championship game, where they were defeated by South Coast Conference rival Mt. San Antonio College. The 39 wins the Falcons have this season ties the school record they set last year when they finished the year 39-11-1.

    In the clinching game, sophomore shortstop Jenel Guadagno (Warren HS) gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with a two-run single with two outs. The key to the inning was a two-out stolen base by sophomore second baseman Vanezza Martin Del Campo (St. Joseph HS), which eventually allowed the inning to stay alive after sophomore outfielder Capree Williams (Paramount HS/Bethune Cookman University) beat out an infield hit. Had Martin Del Campo still been on first base, the ground ball to Hornet (35-18) second baseman Nicole McCarthy would have resulted in an easy force out at second base. But Williams, with her blazing speed, beat the throw to first base, which set up Guadagno’s hit.

    The two runs would be enough for sophomore pitcher Jessica Navarro (South Gate HS), who once again limited Fullerton to just two hits in securing the shutout win. Just like in the first game, the Falcons also made some solid defensive plays to help keep the Hornets at bay.

    Sophomore third baseman Katie Colln (Mayfair HS) made a spectacular diving stop of a hard ground ball and threw the runner out early in the game, while Williams helped preserve the shut out in the sixth with a great play of her own. After Jackie Rivera led off with a base hit for Fullerton, pinch-runner Caitlin Kilroy was advanced to second base on an infield out. But when Brelyn Bell singled to center field, Kilroy rounded the third base bag, where Williams came up throwing and caught her trying to get back, which was the third out of the inning.

    The offense also received a solo home run from Martin Del Campo in the fourth inning, while Navarro doubled in a run in the fifth. Sophomore first baseman Stephanie Lomeli (Montebello HS) also collected an RBI base hit in the inning. The final run of the game came courtesy of the third Hornet error of the day.