Facing windy weather, the Cerritos College softball team rode the wind en route to an 8-0 win over Pasadena City College last Thursday at Nancy Kelly Field.

The game was called at the top of the fifth inning due to a mercy-rule.

Five of the Falcons’ (26-9-1, 8-3) runs were scored in the third inning and were caused by Pasadena’s (5-26, 2-10) errors.

“We didn’t want to take Pasadena lightly,” first baseman Stephanie Lomeli said. “We didn’t let up this time around. We didn’t want to let them have a chance of catching up,”

Pitcher Jessica Navarro threw mainly curveballs, keeping the Lancers at only one hit during the game. Her record on the “season so far as a starting pitcher is (21-5).

“(Navarro) pitched a good game, so the ball was kept on the ground,” Lomeli said. “It made it easier for the infielders to make plays and to tag (Pasadena) out.”

Cerritos got its first score at the top of the second inning when Lomeli scored while second baseman Vanezza Martin Del Campo reached third base on outfielder Cecily Garcia’s base hit.

Martin Del Campo would be tagged out while trying to reach home plate.

The third inning’s scoring binge started when catcher Nadine Garcia scored on an error from Lancers second baseman Kimberly Aviles. Five other players would go on to score runs for the Falcons.

Martin Del Campo hit a homerun in the top of the third inning and added two RBI.

According to head coach Kodee Murray, Martin Del Campo has hit three homeruns and nine RBI on her last eight at-bats.

“Every time she’s been up to bat, she hits one or two players into base,” Murray said.

About Martin Del Campo’s stats she said, “It’s probably a school record. If not, it’s still pretty impressive.”

Players say that the windy weather played a factor in the game, though it was not the sole reason for the win.

“I felt confident about the way I pitched, but I was a little worried about the wind,” Navarro said. “I thought it would have messed with my curveballs by moving them to the side or pushing them closer to the ground.”

Martin Del Campo said, “It was hard to get ground balls because the wind was blowing the ball everywhere.

“Pop-fly’s would move side-to-side in the air and you had to stay on top of it and make sure that it was just right so you wouldn’t miss the ball. It felt like we were playing in 40 or 50 miles per hour winds!”

The last time the two teams met on the Falcons’ home field on March 8, the Lancers came out with a 5-3 win.

From that game to this one, Murray says that the team has grown. In the games between the two, she said that the team has become more adjusted to each other and has bonded more as a team.

“(It’s) a different team now. The team’s played about 18 games between then and now and they’ve grown together,” Murray said.

“The players know that they can’t just put on the uniform and expect to win. They’re more confident in themselves and each other.”

We have more confidence when we’re at bat,” Martin Del Campo said. “Also, we started improving defensively, by going for balls up the middle.”

Also, Navarro did not pitch in that game due to a heel bruise.

“Maybe the team is more confident when I’m pitching,” she said in regard to the different turnouts of the games.