The Cerritos College Falcons erased an early four-run deficit with an offensive explosion Tuesday afternoon, rolling past the Compton College Coyotes, 19-5, at Kincaid Field.
Compton jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, capitalizing on timely hitting and a pair of walks. Former Falcon Julian Arellano drove in the game's first run with a single, while Noah Gomez followed with a sacrifice bunt that led to a run. Jaidon Carter added an RBI single, and another run scored on a wild pitch to cap the early surge.
The Falcons responded in the third inning. Andrew Perez reached on a sacrifice bunt that resulted in a throwing error, allowing Luke Crowder to score. Mateo Heredia grounded out to shortstop to bring in another run and trim the deficit to 4-2.
Cerritos took control in the bottom of the fourth inning, sending 10 batters to the plate. Crowder began the rally with an RBI single before Tyler Peshke delivered the decisive blow, a grand slam to left-center field that gave the Falcons a 7-4 lead. The very next batter, Jose Perez, connected on a solo home run to left field as Cerritos extended its advantage to four runs.
The Falcons continued to add on in the fifth inning. CJ Berthon reached on a sacrifice bunt that resulted in a throwing error, allowing a run to score, and Cerritos took advantage of additional miscues and a wild pitch to push the lead to 12-4.
Peshke went 3-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored, while Wyatt Ormonde finished with four RBI, highlighted by a bases-clearing double in the eighth inning. Andrew Perez scored four times and drove in two runs, and Crowder added two hits and an RBI. Alejandro Rosas also collected two hits and scored twice as Cerritos totaled 14 hits in the contest.
After a tough first inning, the Cerritos pitching staff settled in. Lakaea Correa earned the victory with 5.1 innings of shutout relief, scattering two hits and striking out four. AJ Gonzalez tossed two innings, and Dylan Alcala worked a scoreless ninth inning to close out the win.
With the victory, the Falcons will look to carry the momentum into their next conference contest on Thursday at Compton College.
