The Cerritos College baseball team built an early four-run lead but couldn't hold off a late Cypress surge, falling 9–5 on Friday at Kincaid Field.

The Falcons came out swinging in the opening inning. After drawing traffic on the bases, CJ Berthon delivered a two-run single through the left side to put Cerritos on the board. Berthon later came around to score on an RBI single by Brody Cuellar, giving the Falcons a 3–0 advantage.

Cerritos added to its lead in the second when Mateo Heredia tripled and later scored to make it 4–0.

Starting pitcher Caleb Orr worked five innings, allowing four runs while striking out three. The Falcons' defense backed him up early, and the offense continued to apply pressure with eight total hits on the afternoon.

Cypress, however, chipped away in the middle innings. A three-run double in the fourth cut the lead to one before the Chargers tied the game in the fifth. Cerritos reliever Owen Waytas battled through four innings of work, but Cypress pushed ahead with a sacrifice fly in the seventh and added key insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings.

Berthon led the Falcons offensively, driving in three runs. Heredia reached base three times, finishing with a triple and two walks, while Hudson Comer and Andrew Perez each recorded multi-hit games.

Cerritos will look to bounce back tomorrow when they take on Southwestern at 1pm at home.