Fullerton College took down the Cerritos Falcons 16-14 on an eventful Tuesday evening.

The two teams combined for 31 hits overall as well as 15 runs in the 4th inning alone.

Hornet freshman’s catcher Diego Black and first baseman Tony Accordino lead the offense with a combined 7 hits for the Hornets. The pair also had 4 RBIs between them. Accordino homered during the 9 runs outburst in the 4th inning for the Hornets.

Hornets head coach Nick Fuscardo credited his young team after the big win at home. “We competed today, which is really good since we’re young.”

Hornet sophomore starting pitcher Taed Heydinger struggled early and only lasted 3.2 innings. Hornet relief pitcher freshman Jacob Baca replaced Heydinger in the 4th. However, Baca would allow 2 hits and walk after entering the game, which created a bases-loaded situation. Baca needed a stop and the Hornets would get groundout to first to end the inning.

To start the 5th inning, Coach Fuscardo opted for a change and put in Hornet sophomore pitcher Patrick Showalter. Showalter pitched the last 5 innings with 3 being shutouts innings and only allowing a walk.

Fullerton was able to hold on and get their 3rd straight victory of the season. Coach Fuscardo gave credit to Showalter as he closed the game. “Showalter earned the win. He competed, especially in the last 3 innings.”

The Hornets had a solid offensive performance, but defensively they could have cleaned a few things up. “Overall, defensively I was very disappointed. We’re really a better defensive team than we played today,” said coach Fuscardo.

FC was able to capture a victory after 5 straight loses on the road, including a “home” game which was played at the historic Amerige Park in Fullerton due to field conditions from the rain against Southwestern.

As the Hornets returned home to play on familiar turf, they we looking for a bounce back victory. “For us to come home today and play a game…It’s really a beautiful thing,” added Fuscardo after playing just their second game of the season at home.

Up next: Fullerton improves to 3-6 on the season and will travel to Long Beach College on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Game time at 2 pm.