SOARING HIGH OVER THE CERRITOS FALCONS
The FC baseball squad soared high on Thursday afternoon at Hornet Field overpowering Cerritos College 16-5 in a non-conference matchup.
The FC baseball squad soared high on Thursday afternoon at Hornet Field overpowering Cerritos College 16-5 in a non-conference matchup.
With the win, the Hornets improve to 7-4 overall, while the Falcons fall to 3-6 on the season.
Fullerton wasted little time setting the tone as FC's Carlos Barrios got the Hornets on the board in the first inning with an RBI double to right center scoring Nate Pone. The bats stayed hot in the second as Jake Starr delivered a RBI single and Diego Vazquez followed with a two-run single to extend the lead. Barrios capped the inning with a two-run base hit up the middle giving Fullerton a commanding 6-0 advantage.
The Hornets added three more runs in the fourth inning. Vazquez tripled to right center driving in two runs and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Barrios to push the lead to 9-0. Pone added to the offensive surge in the fifth with an RBI triple to make it 10-0.
Cerritos made noise in the sixth, plating five runs highlighted by a three-run homer, but Fullerton quickly answered. In the eighth inning, the Hornets broke the game wide open, scoring six runs. Vazquez drove in another run with a double, Barrios collected two more RBI with a single, and James Reveles and Luke Viola each added RBI hits to seal the 16-5 victory.
Vazquez led the charge at the plate, going 3-4 with 5 RBI and 3 runs scored. Barrios matched him with a 3-4 performance and a game-high 6 RBI. Pone also had a big day finishing 3-3 with three runs scored with a RBI, while Starr crossed the plate 3 times.
On the mound, Will Valenzuela earned the win tossing 5 shutout innings while allowing 4 hits and striking out 3. The bullpen combination of Nate Baughman, Mason Smith, and Nico Rodriguez shut the door over the final innings to secure the win.
Fullerton racked up 15 hits and drew seven walks in the dominant performance.
Up Next: the Hornets (7-4 overall) return to action this Friday when they travel to LA Harbor College for another non-conference game at 2:00 pm.
