Sophomore pitcher Kellen Moen and the Warrior baseball team knew that Saturday’s game against South Coast Conference rival Cerritos was a must win.

In order to hold the Falcons out of first place, Moen took the ball in his hand and shut out Cerritos 5-0.

The Warriors have depended on pitching and defense while Moen proved to be the difference with eight strikeouts in eight innings.

“I was able to establish my fastball and I kept up with my pitches,” Moen said.

“We want to win all our games from now until the end of the season because Long Beach and Cerritos are right behind us.”

With a win over Cerritos, the Warriors are currently first in conference and hold the tie-breaker over Cerritos, which is key for the playoffs.

Only the top two teams qualify for the playoffs and coach Nate Fernley believes that every game from this point on is crucial if they want to hold off Long Beach and Cerritos.

“We know if we want to make the playoffs and stay on top, we have to win every game because our conference is very tough,” Fernley said. “Our number one spot right now is not permanent and we have to continue on winning games.”

With two games against Long Beach and one against Cerritos, Fernley believes the Warriors will have to hold them off just to make the playoffs.

“We have to get (to the playoffs) first,” Fernley said when asked about his team’s chances in the postseason.

Fernley is hoping the Warriors will continue to pitch well and play consistent defense since they have struggled to find an identity on offense.

Although the Warriors have been hitting the ball well of late and the team’s batting average has gone up 40 points, a lot of the inconsistency has to do with the team being so young and inexperienced.

“We try to do too much offensively at times,” Fernley said. “We have at least seven of nine freshmen on the field during our games and instead of making the simple play offensively, the young guys always want to hit the ball over the fence.”

“Instead of maybe hitting the groundball up the middle or making that simple play to get home, there is that ‘freshmen tendency’ where they want to continue batting at a high average out of high school, or be like Manny Ramirez (L.A. Dodgers left fielder) and hit homeruns. Sometimes Ramirez also takes those easy RBI’s as well and plays intelligently. Our young guys have to do the same.”

While the Warriors are still searching for an identity on offense, Fernley is counting on defense and pitching to get the Warriors into the playoffs.

Fernley said pitchers such as Moen, freshman Kyle Petter and sophomore B.J. Bensoa are crucial for the team’s success.

“Our pitchers have been very consistent this year and at times have covered our glaring weakness on offense,” Fernley said. “In order for us to make it (in the playoffs) our pitching and defense will have to take us there.”

Freshman second baseman John Hein said he believes the Warrior defense is consistent because they carry a certain swagger on the field knowing they are good.

The confidence they possess is one reason why the team is among the defensive leaders in conference.

“Our defense is one of the best or the best in conference and if we carry it over to the playoffs, then we could beat anybody,” Hein said.

This season, Fernley has been very pleased and satisfied with the Warriors play which he thinks is good enough to win the conference and the state championships.

Some things the Warriors have to work on with being so young is to maintain their poise and composure while making their push for the playoffs.

“Overall, I love our chances,” Fernley said. “We always play hard. As the games get tighter heading into the playoffs, I am kind of concerned about our freshmen.”

As the Warriors make their push towards the postseason, Fernley believes the team has a big week ahead of it with matchups against Cerritos and Long Beach.

“This is a huge week for us,” Fernley said.

“These are must-win games for us in order stay in first (place).”

The Warriors have 10 games left this season, all against conference opponents.

Of those 10 games, five are at home and five are on the road.

The Warriors end the season May 1 against conference opponent L.A. Harbor.