Desperately needing a win to stay within striking distance for their second straight South Coast Conference championship, the Cerritos College baseball team handed host Mt. San Antonio College an 11-4 decision on Tuesday. The Mounties (25-4, 12-1) started the day on a 21-game winning streak, while the Falcons (23-6, 10-3) were looking to rebound from a tough seven days, where they dropped a pair of one-run games and looked to avoid falling further behind from first place. The two teams will meet up at Kincaid Field at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday in the second game of the series.

Cerritos opened an 8-0 lead in the sixth inning before the Mounties could respond. Single runs in the second and third innings got things started, while a four-run fifth inning was highlighted by a three-run home run off the bat of freshman first baseman Wyatt Ormonde (Long Beach Millikan HS). In the second inning, sophomore second baseman Dylan Immel (El Segundo HS) got things started by drawing a walk before a single by freshman third baseman Mateo Heredia (El Segundo HS). With two outs, sophomore outfielder Evan Saito (Torrance HS) slapped and RBI single to get the team on the board.

In the third inning, hot-hitting sophomore outfielder Isaiah Rios (St. John Bosco HS) legged out a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Immel.

Freshman starting pitcher Nolan Patterson (Long Beach Millikan HS) kept the Mounties at bay with five shutout innings, before surrendering three runs (one earned) before coming out in the eighth inning. Patterson (6-1) escaped a rough first inning unscathed and received inning-ending double plays in both the second and third innings. A passed ball in the fifth inning allowed the first run to score, while the second came on an infield out. He got Mt. SAC to hit into a third double play in the seventh inning before scoring their third run of the game.

In the big fifth inning, sophomore outfielder Diego Orozco (Long Beach Wilson HS) led off with a walk and moved to second base on a base hit by freshman designated hitter Brody Cuellar (Bishop Montgomery HS). Ormonde then stepped up and hit his team-leading ninth home run of the season, while his 52 RBI are currently third in the state and the most in Southern California.

Cuellar and Immel added RBI singles in the sixth inning to make it an 8-0 lead, while Immel collected his third RBI on the day with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.

Orozco, who drew three more walks, increased his state lead with 44 on the season, while Heredia (3-for-5, two RBI) and Rios both went 3-for-5. In conference play, Rios is now batting .500 (14-for-28).