Griffins to host Cerritos in playoff series this weekend

By ECS Staff
Updated: May 2, 2016

2016 GROSSMONT COLLEGE BASEBALL

By Chris Davis
© East County Sports.com

SACRAMENTO (5-2-16) — “Okay it is official. 5 Grossmont vs 12 Cerritos – May 6 & 7.”

That was the text that head coach RANDY ABSHIER sent to all of the Grossmont College Griffin baseball players, coaches and staff Sunday (May 1) around 11:00 a.m.

The Cerritos Falcons (23-13) will be traveling to Noel Mickelsen Field for the regional round of the 2016 CCCAA baseball playoffs this coming weekend (May 6 and 7).

Cerritos finished one game behind Long Beach (24-12) in the South Coast Conference. Whereas Grossmont won the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference with a 27-9 overall and 19-5 conference record. The 19-5 record was one game better than Palomar (24-12) who qualified as the 11 seed. Also qualifying for the playoffs out of the PCAC was 3rd place finisher Mt. San Jacinto (20-16). Palomar will travel to San Luis Obispo to take on Cuesta (25-11, Western State – North champion), while MSJC will host Fullerton (15-21, 4^th place Orange Empire) in one of the two play-in games.

CERRITOS FALCONS SCOUTING REPORT:

The Falcons are coming into the playoffs with a 7-3 record over the final 10 games of the season. But even more recent;y than that the Falcons went 1-2 in their final series against LA Harbor. As far as how Cerritos did against playoff qualifiers, they went 9-5 against seven different qualifiers (Grossmont went 11-3 against six teams). As a team Cerritos has a team batting average of .295 over the course of their 36 games. They average a home run every 3.6 games this season (compared to Grossmont’s 1.5 games).

Mark Pena leads the team with a .375 average over the course of his 152 at bats. The sophomore leads the squad with four triples over his 17 extra base hits. He is second on the club with 31 RBI, trailing Derrick Edwards 35 RBI’s for the team lead. Edwards, a freshman second baseman, carries a .316 average along with a pair of home runs. Daniel Lopez, Edwards’ double play partner, leads the club with a .355 average, 16 doubles, four home runs and 16 stolen bases.

On the mound, sophomore Jonathan Marriott comes into the postseason with a 5-3 record and will more than likely be the game one starting pitcher on Friday. He has started 10 of his 13 appearances that he has thrown 57.1 innings. Travis Bonner leads the Falcons with a 2.25 ERA (13er/52ip) and has a 4-0 record coming out of the ‘pen. Bonner has appeared in 19 games with only one start. Jerald Johnston (4-2) is the Falcons’ closer with six saves over his team-high 25 games.

The Falcon defense has been porous at times this season. Over the course of their 36 games this season, 23 times they have committed two or more errors, 11 with three or more.

The schedule for the weekend best of three series will be Friday (May 6) at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday (May 7) at 11:00 a.m. If a third game is needed, it will be approximately 30 minutes after the first game concludes. Fans are warned that parking will be tight all weekend as besides the baseball series, the softball team will be hosting a regional on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Also, the Griffins will be hosting the CCCAA Beach Volleyball State Championships all weekend. Volleyball will get underway at 10:00 a.m. on Friday and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Please also note, the Grossmont athletic department is warning all fans that parking passes will be needed to be purchased, unlike during the regular season.