After their original set date to play on Friday, Jan. 27, against Imperial Valley was canceled, Cerritos was rescheduled for a Saturday morning matchup against Folsom Lake in a non-conference game.
The Folsom Lake Falcons played Cerritos on Jan. 28 at Nancy Kelly Field.
Richere Leduc started in the circle for Cerritos alongside familiar faces for the Falcons as seen last season in their historical playoff run.
Cerritos got off to a great start as they retired the side in order to begin the bottom of the first inning and Leduc singled to lead the Falcons off.
Alyssa Sotelo popped in the infield for the first out, Brooklyn Bedolla singled as Leduc advanced to second base.
Freshman Marley Manalo reached first on a fielder’s choice and Leduc was forced out at third for the second out.
Miranda Diaz singled to left field, scoring Bedolla from second base as Manalo advanced to second.
Maddy Guillen flew out to center field ending the inning as Cerritos took a one-point lead against Folsom lake.
Disaster struck for Cerritos in the top of the 2nd inning as a walk and a double put runners in scoring position for Folsom Lake. Cerritos would then make defensive changes as Leduc was relieved from the circle.
Freshman Pitcher, Reanna Carranza entered the circle to pitch for Cerritos in a tough situation with no outs.
Cerritos would surrender three unearned runs as well as two defensive errors as Folsom took a 4-1 lead before the Falcons retired the inning.
Jimena Delgado led off the bottom of the second inning as she flew out in the infield. Jazmine Macias homered to center field to bring life for Cerritos as it helped switch momentum for the Falcons.
Alyssa Capps would be walked at the plate, she would then go on to steal second base. Leduc flew out to right field advancing Capps to third base.
Sotelo flew out to the right field to end the inning as the score was 4-2.
Cerritos only surrendered a two-run homer in the top of the third inning as better communication went on amongst the defense to clean up on the errors made in the last inning.
Folsom was up 6-2 going into the bottom of the third and Cerritos struggled offensively as Folsom retired the side out in order as Manalo was caught stealing second.
Cerritos surrendered another run before relieving Carranza from the circle and sending their Ace Samantha Islas to pitch. Islas would retire the inning and stay in to finish the game.
Cerritos failed to score any more runs after struggling to hit in the remaining innings and the Folsom Lake Falcons would go on to win 7-2.
“We’re all still learning how to play with each other,” Bedolla said regarding the team’s chemistry and connection, “we have a lot of freshmen who are getting used to it.”
The Falcons 2022 softball team had additional time to bond and practice due to COVID-19 restrictions suspending the initial 2021 softball season leading to a team with an additional offseason to connect.
Bedolla believes it’s a matter of time and continuous hard work at practice until they begin playing at their full potential.
The Cerritos Falcons’ next home game will be against Palomar on Feb. 3, at 1 p.m.
