Continuing their strong non-conference schedule, the Cerritos College baseball team completed a three-game sweep over Allan Hancock College on Saturday with a 12-3 victory. The win was the fifth in a row for the Falcons (11-2), who will begin defense of their South Coast Conference championship on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. when they start a three-game series at Compton College.

Cerritos jumped out to a 4-0 lead through the first four innings in support of sophomore All-American starting pitcher Derek Valdez (Los Alamitos HS). In the top of the third inning, freshman outfielder Owen Martin (Narbonne HS) was hit by a pitch with one out, followed by walks to sophomore outfielders Diego Orozco (Long Beach Wilson HS) and Evan Saito (Torrance HS). Without the benefit of a hit, the Falcons scored twice, as freshman designated hitter Brody Cuellar (Bishop Montgomery HS) was hit by a pitch to bring in a run, followed by freshman first baseman Wyatt Ormonde (Long Beach Millikan HS) bringing in another run with his RBI walk. Sophomore second baseman Dylan Immel (El Segundo HS) drove in the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.

The lead was extended to 4-0 after freshman third baseman Mateo Heredia (El Segundo HS) led off with a walk, moved to second base on a bunt single from sophomore catcher Daniel Cuadras (Warren HS/Golden West College), while both advanced a base thanks to a sacrifice bunt from freshman shortstop Fabian Ochoa (Warren HS). The run came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore outfielder Isaiah Rios (St. John Bosco HS), who replaced Martin after he was hit by a pitch the previous inning.

Valdez joined sophomore teammate Noah Andrunas (Gahr HS/UC Riverside) with 5-0 records, as he tossed seven complete innings and allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out five batters. The duo are the only two 5-0 pitchers on the same team in the state and share the lead in wins. Freshman AJ Gonzalez (Gahr HS) came in to pitch the eighth inning, with Heredia pitching the ninth inning.

Although the Bulldogs did get to within 5-3 after the fifth inning, the Falcons weren't done at the plate. They scored a pair in the seventh inning and added five more in the eighth inning.

Cuellar led off the seventh inning with a single and advanced to second base when Ormonde reached on an error. Immel followed with an RBI single, while Heredia brought home a run on an infield out. Cutting through the Allan Hancock bullpen, Cerritos took advantage of two errors to aid them in adding to their lead.

With one out, Orozco walked, while Saito reached on an error. With freshman pinch-runner Ricky Ahumada (Torrance HS) at first base, a failed pickoff throw allowed both runners to advance, where Cuellar followed with a two-run single. Ormonde kept the inning alive with an RBI double, with Heredia and Cuadras each driving in a run to extend the lead.

Cuellar and Immel went a combined 6-for-7 with three runs scored and six RBI, while Ormonde and Heredia each drove in a pair.

Photos courtesy of Shelby Scott/Allan Hancock SID