The Cerritos College softball team put together a dominant performance on Saturday afternoon, using a massive 10-run first inning to cruise past Antelope Valley College, 11–2, in a five-inning run-rule victory at Cerritos College.
After Antelope Valley struck first with two runs in the top of the opening inning, the Falcons wasted no time responding. Cerritos sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on patience at the plate, timely hitting, and aggressive baserunning to completely flip the momentum.
Cerritos drew seven walks in the game, five of them coming in the opening frame. Runs crossed the plate via walks from Tatyana Cortez, Carissa Amaya, Isabella Najera, and Amarie Encarnacion, while Luna Villa and Mia Star Miramontes delivered RBI singles to keep the inning rolling. Marley Cortez delivered the biggest swing of the inning, ripping a two-run double to center field, and Alyssa Avila followed with an RBI double of her own as the Falcons raced out to a 10–2 lead before the inning came to an end.
The Falcons weren't done offensively. Cerritos added an insurance run in the third inning when Amaya reached on an error and Marley Cortez came around to score, pushing the lead to 11–2.
Marley Cortez led the Falcons at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs, while Avila finished 1-for-1 with a double, an RBI, a walk, and a run scored. Villa, Miramontes, and Najera each drove in a run, and Encarnacion scored twice while drawing two walks and stealing a base.
In the circle, Tatyana Cortez earned the win, improving to 2–2 on the season. The right-hander was sharp, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five over 3.1 innings. Miramontes closed out the game in relief, surrendering one run while striking out two over the final 1.2 innings to secure the run-rule victory.
Defensively, the Falcons were clean and efficient, committing no errors and helping limit Antelope Valley to just five hits on the afternoon.
With the win, the Falcons improved to 4–3 on the season and will look to carry that momentum into their next contest as conference play continues.
