Cerritos Blanks Riverside, 4-0; Advances to Super Regional Next Weekend

RIVERSIDE -- Outhitting its opponent except when it came to getting the clutch hit, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's fastpitch softball team lost, 4-0, in game two of a CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoff best-of-three-games series Sunday afternoon (May 4) to the visiting Cerritos College Falcons at Brown Field (Evans Sports Complex).

Sunday's loss eliminated Riverside (28-13), the No. 7 seed, for the season.

Cerritos (32-11), seeded No. 10 in the region broke a scoreless tie in the top of the second inning when pinch hitter Haley Petruccelli (Torrance) drew a bases-loaded walk to force in P/DP Jamie Ramirez Pico Rivera) with an unearned run and a 1-0 lead.

The Falcons then put the game away in the top of the fifth inning. The bases were loaded, thanks to three walks, before sophomore 3B Ariana Mejia (Norwalk) socked a bases-clearing single to center field and a 4-0 Cerritos lead.

Riverside outhit Cerritos, 8-3, but couldn't get a timely hit. The Tigers left the bases loaded in the first and sixth innings and left 11 runners on base.

A pair of frosh -- 2B Jessica Valenzuela (Rialto / Aquinas HS) and C Selena Duran (Riverside / Arlington HS) -- and sophomore CF Jamie Munoz (Riverside / Poly HS) each had two hits for Riverside.

Cerritos sophomore RHP Kat Flores (Pico Rivera), who was originally listed as the starting pitcher, came on in relief in the bottom of the fifth inning and pitch the final three frames and allowed only two hits and one walk to record her third save. Starting RHP Jamie Ramirez (Pico Rivera) went the first four innings to gain the victory and improve to 18-8.

RCC starting RHP MacKenzie Maxwell (Calimesa / Yucaipa HS) went the distance (128 pitches, 67 strikes) and allowed all four runs (three earned) on three hits and eight walks as her record fell to 13-6.

Cerritos advances to the Super Regional to be played Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 9-11.

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