The Cerritos College softball team split its two games by winning one and losing one at Nancy Kelly Field on Saturday, March 4.

This “stand out team,” according to assistant coach Jenel Guadagno, has started its season off strong and has shown its ability to compete with every team it has faced thus far.

The Falcons started the day off strong by beating Mt. San Jacinto 15-0 in just 5 innings. Seven runs alone were scored during the first inning and they added eight more in the second.

Their defense was just as consistent as their hitting, shutting out San Jacinto, who left without scoring one run.

The following game against Palomar College was very different than the first game and although the Falcons fought until the very last out they came up short, losing 6-5.

Sophomore pitcher Kristen Voller said especially when the Falcons are playing a double header the most important thing they can do is try and stay mentally focused the entire day, starting with warm ups before the game, until the last at bat, the last hit and the last out, because “anything can happen.”

However, besides the fact that playing multiple games in a row can be mentally and physically exhausting on all of the players, it is even harder for the only two active pitchers on the team.

Having only two pitchers is not ideal for the Falcons, one player pitches half of the first game and the other pitches the second half. Guadagno is not worried about the situation yet and said, “we will see how it goes.”

One player who wasn’t worried about only having two pitchers was Voller. She claimed she wasn’t nervous at all, in fact, she seemed confident and up for the challenge.

She said, “Not getting much rest is just the life of a pitcher.”

She explained that she was ready and willing to do anything she could to help her team win, including pitching 14 innings if she had to.

Voller isn’t the only sophomore the Falcons are relying on this season. Although Guadagno is confident in all of her players, according to her, the player that has really stood out on the team has been starting sophomore second baseman Kylie Brown.

Guadagno explained that Brown is a “spark plug” and is the player the team looks toward to get the hitting going. “[Brown] makes stellar plays on defense and is just a clutch kid.”

With just four return players that had experience playing in a game for the Falcons last season, according to both Brown and Guadagno, the chemistry the team had last year is not as strong this year yet, but there is still a lot of time left in the season.

Brown said she is hopeful the team will be able to pull it together and bond this season. She ended by saying if that happens she is confident it will be a “super good” season.

The Cerritos College softball team will play its next four games on the road, starting at 3 pm at Santiago Canyon College on Monday, March 6.

The team looks forward to bringing back a state championship to Cerritos College.

“We are way overdue.” Guadagno said, “It’s time!”