The Cerritos softball team faced off against Santiago Canyon at home for their second game of the year on Jan. 30.
The star of the game was Reanna Carranza who threw seven scoreless innings, completely shutting down the Hawks offense who left only two runners on base.
When asked about how she prepared before her no-hit performance Carranza stated, “It was just one of those days, last night I did watch one of my games from last week and it just made me feel more confident.”
The no-hit performance carries Carranza’s scoreless innings streak to 14 on the season which includes back-to-back complete game shutouts.
Early in the game the Falcons were able to put runners in scoring position after a single and stolen base from Jazmine Macias.
Catcher Jimena Velasquez wasted little time getting Macias home, slapping a two-strike single into the outfield grass giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
”Very patient, I know they’re not gonna give me anything I necessarily want so I do have to make my adjustment and also just be patient,” said Velasquez, “They’re just gonna throw a bunch of balls and that’s all I can ask for honestly.”
Both offensive units cooled off as Carranza and Madison Lee, pitcher for Santiago Canyon traded multiple scoreless innings.
The Falcons had an opportunity to add to their lead when a walk and wild pitch by Lee put a runner on second in the third inning, but a groundout left the Falcons empty handed.
Cerritos struggled defensively early on allowing runners to reach base on errors in multiple innings but recovered well later in the game making crucial plays.
In the bottom of the fourth inning the Falcons had a runner reach base thanks to a walk by Celeste Carbajal who was pinch run for by Miranda Romo.
Romo wasted no time making an impact, stealing a bag and advancing to third thanks to a single.
A sacrifice fly from Ayiana Cardenas brought Romo home to give the Falcons a lead. Despite the offensive success the Falcons remained patient drawing two straight walks to juice the bases.
Soon after a hard hit line out to third by Marley Manalo stranded three and ended the inning.
The long fourth inning from Lee forced Hawks Head Coach Brandice Cutspec to dip into her bullpen, she elected to have Nadeen Kerdiya come out in relief.
The pitching change worked out well for Cerritos as they loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth due to a hit from Carbajal, a walk by Cardenas and a fielding error that put Macias on base.
This brought Manalo to the plate with the bases loaded for a second time and she delivered a grand slam over the center field wall.
When describing the difference during her second time up Manalo said, “I decided to like not think as hard as I did…when the second time came around, I knew what to think and expect.”
Following the win the Falcons travel to Orange Coast College to take on the Pirates on Jan. 31 at 2 p.m.
