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Looking to become
the first school ever to come back after losing
their first game to win the state championship, the
Cerritos College softball team almost made their way
to the final day. But after taxing wins over
Riverside College (10-4) and Cypress College (11-10
in 11 innings), the Falcons were out of steam when
they had to face Sierra College in their third game
of the day at the Salinas Sports Complex on
Saturday. Cerritos dropped an 8-1 decision and were
eliminated from the California Community College
Athletic Association state championship and
concluded the season with a 41-11-1 record. Santa
Ana College is the only team to ever come back to
win the title after losing their first game back in
1985, but it was only a four-team tournament, as
opposed to the eight-team format currently used.
After pulling away
from Riverside College in their first elimination
game of the day by opening a 7-0 lead and then
holding on for their 10-4 win, the Falcons and
Chargers played a game that would surely be an ESPN
Classic. Once again, Cerritos opened a big lead (4-1
after four innings), but over the next three innings
both teams combined 13 runs, including a pair of
unearned Charger runs in the top of the seventh
inning to send the game into extra innings. Cypress
did score a run in the top of the 11th inning, but
freshman first baseman
Ashley
Ventura (Carson HS) drilled a
two-run game-winning home run to send the team to
their third game of the day.
Before they
reached extra innings, Cypress tied the game with
three runs in the top of the fourth inning before
freshman outfielder
Lauren
Castrellon (Downey HS) hit a
three-run blast, her second of the game, to give
Cerritos a 7-4 lead. The Chargers responded with a
three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning by
Kim Frazier to tie the game. However, Cerritos
answered back in the bottom of the stanza for a pair
of runs, before Cypress scored their unearned runs
in the top of the seventh to make it 9-9.
The excitement
didn't end in the extra innings, as both teams had
their chances to take the lead. Cypress had a pair
of hits in the eighth inning, but Charger Vanessa
Claro hit into a double play to end the inning. In
the ninth, Cerritos had freshman outfielder
Devin
Salmones (Gahr HS) single and
was sacrificed to second base. After Castrellon was
intentionally walked, freshman shortstop
Cassandra
Godoy (Downey HS) singled up
the middle. On the play, Salmones looked to come
home and was caught in a rundown for the third out
of the inning.
The Chargers
pushed a run across the plate in the 11th on three
hits and left the bases loaded, as freshman pitcher
Hillary Perez-Ashley (Long Beach
Poly HS) worked out of yet another tight
situation. She was rewarded for her efforts in the
bottom of the inning when freshman designated player
Brandi Rummell (La Serna HS)
drew a leadoff walk before Ventura's heroics.
Castrellon
finished the game 3-for-4 with four RBI, two walks
and two runs scored, while sophomore outfielder
Jennifer Salas (California HS)
had three hits, while Ventura drove in three.
Perez-Ashley pitched all 11 innings and allowed 10
runs (eight earned) while striking out five.
The day opened
with the Falcons collecting 13 hits in their win
over Riverside. Castrellon drove in a pair of runs
in a three-run third inning with a double, while
Salmones drove in a run with a fielder's choice. It
was a 7-0 game after Ventura hit a two-run home run
in the fifth inning before the Tigers got to
Perez-Ashley for four runs in the bottom of the
fifth inning. Cerritos closed out the scoring in the
sixth, as Rummell, Ventura and Salmones all drove in
runs.
Perez-Ashley
picked up the win going five innings and allowed
four runs (one earned), while freshman pitcher
Joanna Avila (El Rancho HS)
pitched the final two innings. At the plate, Ventura
(3-for-4, 3 RBI) and Salmones (2-for-4, 3 RBI) had
good games.
But after two long
games (a combined 6 hours for the first two games),
the Falcons were required to play another after a
short respite. They didn't have enough in the tanks
against Sierra and allowed two unearned runs in the
first inning on their way to an 8-1 loss.
Perez-Ashley, who did a superb job over the weekend,
was tagged for 13 hits in four innings before making
way for Avila to finish the game. Cerritos had just
three hits in the final game, with Salas driving in
the lone run in the third inning.
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