Playing a pair of games at College of the Canyons on Tuesday, the Cerritos College softball came away with a pair of wins. The Falcons (8-3) came back in the first game with three runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull out a 6-5 win, and followed that with an 8-5 victory in the second game. On Thursday, Cerritos, winners in six of their last seven games, will travel to Long Beach City College for a 3:00 p.m. South Coast Conference game.

Game 1 - After opening a 3-0 lead against the Cougars, the Falcons found themselves trailing 4-3 heading into the seventh inning. They opened the final stanza with freshman designated player Maddy Guillen (La Puente HS) clubbing a double and then advanced to third base on a single by freshman outfielder Alyssa Capps (Downey HS). With two outs, freshman catcher Vicky Najera (El Rancho HS) drew a walk to put runners at first and third. Freshman shortstop Miranda Diaz (California HS) then hit a blooper near the second base bag, with all runners safe and Guillen scoring to tie the game at 4-4. Pinch-hitter Ariana Hamilton (Downey HS) then drove a ball to the left field wall for a two-run double and a 6-4 advantage.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, College of the Canyons pushed across a run, but freshman pitcher Samantha Islas (Roosevelt HS) struck out Brianne Tall for the final out with runners on first and second base. Islas (4-1), who earned the win, pitched the final 4 2/3 innings and recorded nine strikeouts.

At the plate, Diaz and Hamilton each drove in a pair of runs, while Guillen went 2-for-3 at the plate.

Game 2 - The Falcons scored all the runs they would need in the third inning, as they put eight runs on the board to erase a 1-0 deficit. In the inning, Capps, freshman Alyssa Sotelo (El Rancho HS) and Najera all walked in succession to get the rally started. That set the table for Diaz, who drove in a run with an infield single, with Hamilton following with a bases loaded walk. Freshman Richere Leduc (California HS), who opened the game in the circle, helped her cause with a two-run single. An error brought in a run, with Sotelo capping off the stanza with a two-run double.

Canyons responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning and closed to within 8-5 after another run in the fourth inning. Islas came on in relief of Leduc and shut down the Cougars over the last three innings to earn her third save of the season. She allowed just one hit and struck out five batters. Over the course of the two games, Islas pitched 7 2/3 innings and struck out 14 batters while allowing just four hits.