SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : 3-A ROUNDUP : Home Runs Help Tustin Advance

Derek Baker and Geoff McManus each hit home runs and Adam Schulenburg drove in three runs to give third-seeded Tustin a 7-1 victory over visiting Pico Rivera El Rancho Friday in the first round of the Southern Section Division 3-A baseball playoffs.

Tustin (18-7) will play at El Centro Central Union (14-6-1), a 3-0 winner over Jurupa Valley, in a second-round game Tuesday. The Tillers defeated Central in the second round last year.

Tom Cerasuolo (10-2) pitched a six-hitter for the Tillers, striking out four.

Tustin scored twice in the first inning, when Schulenburg’s one-out, bases-loaded single to center drove in Tim Wilson and Zach Elliott.

Baker, who went two for three with two runs batted in, scored in the third on Schulenburg’s sacrifice fly to put Tustin ahead, 3-0.

El Rancho (12-10), scored in the fourth when Cerasuolo issued a bases-loaded walk to Edgar Aparicio.

In the fifth, Baker homered over the right-field fence--his second homer in two games--to make it 5-1.

“I thought we swung the bat very well,” Tustin Coach Vince Brown said. “First round is always difficult because of jitters and kids being excited. To come out and score runs as we did is very positive.”