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Photo by
Juan Velez.
Samantha
Vaaulu hits state-leading
home runs in victory. |
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Some people have said that Cerritos College
sophomore catcher
Samantha Vaaulu (Warren HS)
is having an "off season". Considering she hit
.454 with 20 home runs and 74 RBI last year, it
would be hard to match those numbers. But after
her two-home run game on Sunday afternoon at
Nancy Kelly Field to help eliminate Chaffey
College from the playoffs, Vaaulu now leads the
state with 17 home runs, while she has driven in
53 runs and hitting a "cool" .362.
The two-game sweep by the top-seeded Falcons
(38-4) in the first round advances the team to
the second round of the Southern California
Regional Playoffs, where they will host a
four-team, double-elimination tournament, with
the winner advancing to the State Tournament.
Cerritos will open the Super Regional at 2:00
p.m. on Friday against an undetermined opponent
at this time.
Cerritos exploded for eight runs in the first
inning on Saturday in the first game against the
16th-seeded Panthers (15-25), but were more
methodical in their approach in the second game.
The Falcons pushed an unearned run across the
plate in the first inning after freshman
outfielder
Samantha Garcia (St. Joseph HS)
led off with a triple and scored on an infield
error by Panther third baseman Rhea
Guadalupe-Murphy.
They scored a pair of runs in the second inning,
thanks to a bases loaded passed ball and an RBI
sacrifice fly from Garcia. In the third, Vaaulu
launched her 16th home run of the year, while
freshman outfielder
Natalie Garcia (Mayfair HS)
drove in a run, followed by an RBI double from
Samantha Garcia.
Once again, Chaffey pitcher Christina Carpenter
decided to pitch to Vaaulu and she promptly hit
a towering two-run home run in the fourth inning
to give Cerritos a 9-0 lead. Vaaulu finished the
day with four RBI, while Samantha Garcia had a
pair of hits and two RBI.
Sophomore pitcher
Hillary Perez-Ashley (Long
Beach Poly HS) allowed just two hits in
four innings and struck out five, while freshman
Jessica Lozano (Banning HS)
came on to pitch the fifth inning. The
win improved Perez-Ashley's record to 32-1 on
the season.
