In a high scoring affair against Mt. San Antonio College, the Cerritos College softball team was stunned by a two-out bases clearing grand slam by Mounties sophomore outfielder Diane Guiterrez which gave the Mounties the win over the Falcons, 15-11.
In a closely contested game for much of the day, the Falcons scored three runs to open up the first inning capped by sophomore shortstop Briana Quintana’s two-run single.
Unshaken by the Falcons’ impressive start, the Mounties answered during the bottom frame of the second inning, scoring four runs, including a three-run jack by freshman catcher, Kelly Williams.
All four runs came after Falcons freshman pitcher Liliana Cornejo managed to retire the first two Mountie batters of the inning.
Falcons Head Coach Kodee Murray feels that the rivalry between the teams added to the game.
“We went up by three [runs], they came right back and got four [runs]. It’s just a real strong rivalry,” she said.
The Falcons regained the lead in the top of the fourth inning, scoring three runs as sophomore third baseman Krista Mele crossed home plate on a triple by Quintana. Sophomore outfielder Lauren Castrellon, and freshman outfielder Shelby Blair also crossed the plate.
Mt. San Antonio College came out swinging during its half of the inning as freshman catcher Kelly Williams began the bottom of the inning with a solo shot. The Mounties ended the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring four runs to reclaim the lead, 8-6.
During the top of the fifth inning, Falcons sophomore outfielder Maiya Tallakson scored on a passed ball as Mt. San Antonio failed to control a pitch leading to Tallakson coming home.
Falcons pitching coach Mike “Moke” Rodriguez noticed that Mt. San Antonio was focused on it’s pitching.
“We knew that we weren’t going to see anything inside, we were going to see a lot of pitches away; curveballs away, changeup’s away, he said.
The Mounties answered during the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring three runs as freshman catcher Kelly Williams began the bottom half with a solo homer. Two additional runs crossed the plate, giving the Mounties an 11-7 advantage.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the top of the sixth inning as the Falcons scored two runs as Tallakson reached on a walk, followed by a two-run home run by freshman catcher Ally Catania to cut the close the gap to a Mounty 11-9 lead.
That score held going into the final inning. Blair scored off of a sacrifice fly when sophomore catcher/first baseman Jackie Flores flew out to center field. Sophomore second baseman Alexxa Sanabria also crossed home plate on a double by freshman first baseman Andrea Arellano. The Falcons ended the inning tied with the Mounties 11-11.
With the loss, the Falcons now have a record of 17-7 on the year. The loss is also the Falcons first conference loss this season.
Cerritos College will return home for to face East Los Angeles College on Tuesday at 3:00p.m.
The Falcons won its last game against East L.A. on Feb. 23 by a score of 9-1.
