With the help of a few late-game long shots, the El Camino College Warriors rallied back from behind to overpower the Cerritos College Falcons, clinching a hard-fought 6-2 victory.

Following a loss against the Santa Ana Dons on April 7, Warriors baseball took to Warrior Field Tuesday, April 11, in the first game of three in the conference series against the Falcons.

First up to bat, the Falcons took the plate but were unable to surpass the Warriors’ starting pitcher, Jack Snyder’s pitches during the first two innings.

“We came out with confidence today,” Snyder said. “I mean, I didn’t have my best stuff on the mount, but I just battled.”

In the bottom of the second inning, first baseman Ethan Felix hit a solo shot to right field to break the tie early on in the game.

“I was more thinking [of] hitting opposite of this guy and [to] then just seek more pitches,” Felix said. He recorded two homeruns, and three RBIs for the day.

Despite a Warriors lead, Falcon’s catcher Conner Sullivan and shortstop Julian Francois changed the pace of the game by scoring off of a sacrifice fly and ground out.

With the Falcons’ leading 2-1, Warriors designated hitter Jaedeyn Edwards hit a go-ahead two-run blast to left field during the bottom of the 7th inning, bringing in catcher Juan Carlos Camarena to home, giving the Warriors a 3-2 lead.

“[During] today’s game, I was going with the approach to attack the opposite side,” Edwards said. “And you know I got a hanging breaking ball and you know I hit it and I hit it hard.”

Falcons’ coach, Junior Alarcon said the team was able to start off the game strong, but unable to finish the task at hand.

“We came out throwing strikes, good [at bats, but] we just weren’t able to finish the game,” Alarcon said. “ A couple swings kind of just did us in with those two-run home runs late in the game, but we were just unable to produce enough offense.”

During the bottom of the 8th inning, the Falcons’ third pitcher of the game, JJ Almeda struck out Warriors shortstop Julio Camarena and second baseman Connor Meidroth, followed by a walk from right fielder Dylan Knowles.

“It was a tough game, probably the first six or seven innings,” Knowles said. “But obviously one homerun turns the tide and we get a lot more momentum and pile it on them, so it was a great way to come back.”

Felix cracked another blast to left center, which brought in Knowles to home giving the Warriors extra insurance for the 6-2 victory against the Falcons.

“The umpire had a bigger zone, but we have to adjust to things like that and I think it really came together at the end,” Felix said. “We did a really good job to get that win.”

After the game, Warriors coach Nate Fernley acknowledged his team had a slow start in the beginning, but was able to turn the game around towards the end of the game.

“I thought our starting pitchers were usually really good, but it just wasn’t his best,” Fernley said. “But we held on, and in the 7th and 8th we got a couple really big hits.”

With an overall record of 22-10, The Warriors will take on the Falcons during their second conference game on Thursday, April 13 at Cerritos College’s Kincaid Field at 2:30 p.m.

Editor’s Notes:

• Set the featured image on Wednesday, April 12, at 9:27 a.m. 
• Changed the headline to be more reflective of the story on Wednesday, April 12, at 9:30 a.m. Original headline: “Warriors baseball sweep up a win against Cerritos”