Cerritos softball players sign
- July 19, 2010
Six members of the Cerritos College softball team ranked No. 1 in the state at the end of the regular season have received scholarships to four-year schools.
Three of the six — first baseman Ashley Ventura, second baseman Lindsey Marquez and shortstop Cassandra Godoy — are headed to Utah State of the Western Athletic Conference.
Standout catcher Samantha Vaaulu has signed with NAIA power Lubbock Christian, outfielder Devin Salmones is bound for Cal State East Bay and pitcher Hillary Perez-Ashley with West Virginia Wesleyan.
All three Utah State-bound players were first-team All-South Coast Conference selections. Ventura, a Carson High School graduate, and Godoy, from Downey, were all-state.
Marquez was All-American and all-state as a freshman after batting .390 with 16 doubles, six home runs and 44 RBI. This year, she hit .400 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI. Ventura batted .429 with nine home runs and 47 RBI and Godoy hit .396 with 11 doubles, 32 RBI and 27 stolen bases this spring.
Utah State went 20-30 and finished seventh in the WAC this year. The Aggies lose six players to graduation.
Vaaulu, a product of Warren High, joins a Lubbock Christian program that was 54-7 and advanced to the NAIA national tournament for a fourth consecutive season.
A first-team All-American and the Diamond Sports catcher of the year as a freshman, Vaaulu followed with a .352 batting average, 17 homers and 55 RBIs as a sophomore for the Falcons. She hit .454 with 20 homers and 71 RBIs as a freshman.
Salmones, from Gahr, hit .355 with five homers and 30 RBIs this spring.
Perez-Ashley, the state pitcher of the year in 2009 and 2010, was 33-2 with a 1.91 ERA this spring and 64-9 over the past two years.
Cerritos went 39-6 this year and 80-17-1 over the last two. The Falcons won the SCC championship each of the past two seasons.