SoCal Bracket

Starting on Friday at 2:00 p.m., the Cerritos College baseball team will begin their road to the state tournament. Last year, the team was one win away from advancing to the 3C2A State Tounament. The Falcons (31-9), who finished in second place in the South Coast Conference, were seeded #4 for the 1st Round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs and will host #21-seeded Allan Hancock College at Kincaid Field. The first game of the series will start at 2:00 p.m. on Friday and is a best-of three series. Earlier in the season, Cerritos played a three-game series with the Bulldogs (22-18) an defeated them all three times. Allan Hancock finished in fourth place in the Western State Conference North Division.

In addition to facing each other three times this season, they also had five common opponents, with Cerritos going 7-6 in those games and Allan Hancock posted a 6-2 record. The Falcons also lead the all-time series, 36-13, while they are 10-3 at home.

The Falcons are led by the starting pitching trio of Derek Valdez, Noah Andrunas and Nolan Patterson, who have a combined 30-3 record. Patterson is 9-1 on the season and with one more win, it will mark the first time in school history Cerritos has had three pitchers with 10 wins or more in a season. Valdez (11-2) was an All-American last season and boasts a 1.51 ERA this season, with Andrunas (10-0) entering the postseason with a 1.64 ERA.

At the plate, freshman first baseman Wyatt Ormonde has already set a new single-season school record with his 13 home runs, while he is currently second in school history with his 64 RBI. He has also clubbed 12 doubles and is hitting at a .354 clip. More power in the lineup comes from two more freshmen, outfielder Owen Martin and designated hitter Brody Cuellar. Martin has six round-trippers, along with seven double and three triples to compliment his .294 batting average and 10 stolen bases, while Cuellar is second on the team with six home runs and 40 RBI while he is hitting .325. Sophomore outfielder Diego Orozco is second in the state with 52 walks and is closing in one the single-season school record of 53 walks, with sophomore utility player Evan Saito leading the team with a .359 batting average and 14 stolen bases.

Sophomore catcher Ryan Reyes has stepped into the lineup and has hit .476 in his seven games since taking over the starting role and has also driven in seven runs. Sophomores Dylan Immel and Isaiah Rios have been consistent all season and are batting .316 and. .330, respectively.

The Bulldogs are led at the plate by Josue Garcia, who's batting .419 with 43 RBI and 29 walks, with Andrew Sandoval hitting .344 with 27 RBI. Six players in the starting lineup are hitting over .300, which includes Brandon Oliver, who's hitting .322. Owen Bolich leads them with three home runs. Jaiden Turner (6-4) is the ace on the mound with two complete-game shutouts and 68 strikeouts in 68 innings and had a 3.01 ERA. Eleven different pitchers have won at least one game, while Austin Moccardini leads Allan Hancock with five saves and has appeared in 19 games.