All-Conference Team

In a season where the Cerritos College softball team tied for third place in the highly competitive South Coast Conference, a pair of freshmen were named 1st Team all-conference. Pitcher Tatyana Cortez (La Serna HS) and third baseman Marley Cortez (Gahr HS) earned 1st Team recognition, while sophomore outfielder Morgan Fontela (Long Beach Millikan HS) and sophomore shortstop Ayiana Cardenas (Walnut HS) were selected to the 2nd Team. Receiving honorable mention recognition were sophomore catcher Vicky Najera (El Rancho HS), freshman second baseman Amarie Encarnacion (Norwalk HS) and sophomore first baseman Briana Zarate (Legacy HS/Compton College).

During conference play, Tatyana Cortez led the SCC in wins (13), strikeouts (113), complete games (14) and innings pitched (120.1), while she currently ranks second in the state on the year with 215 strikeouts. The highlight of her season was tossing a five-inning no-hitter against Rio Hondo College, where she struck out 14 of the 15 batters she faced. Cortez also has five games where she has struck out more than 10 batters in a game.

As for Marley Cortez (pictured, left), she finished fifth in batting average (.438) during conference play and tied for the lead in RBI (27) while striking out only six times. Cortez had a pair of four-hit games in conference action. Over the course of the season, she had hitting streaks of 12, nine and eight games and recorded 14 multi-hit games.

Fontela, a superb defensive player in centerfield, also batted .385 during the conference season and drove in 16 runs. As for Cardenas, she hit .274 on the season and had a solid .973 fielding percentage with just three errors as a middle infielder. Najera, who returned to play her sophomore season after completing her Bachelor's degree at Cal State Fullerton, caught all but three games on the year. She batted .254 on the season with 26 RBI and also stole eight bases. Defensively, she posted a .983 fielding percentage and threw out eight baserunners. Encarnacion, who settled in as the team's second baseman, batted .419 in conference play while driving in 15 runs and led the team with 16 walks. She also committed just two errors all season. Zarate, who has become the team's everyday first baseman, is hitting .336 on the season and leads the team in home runs (6) and is second with 31 RBI. Zarate opened the season with a 13-game hitting streak and had 10 multi-hit games this season.