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By: Stephen Williams

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – In the first of its two doubleheaders in Florida, the Columbus State University softball team split with Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday. The games were played at Simpson Field in West Palm Beach, Fla.
 
Columbus State (16-11) outlasted the Sailfish for a 6-3 victory in 10 innings in the opening game. Palm Beach Atlantic (17-10) rallied for a 4-3 win in the nightcap.
 
The Lady Cougars will head to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Wednesday for two more games against Nova Southeastern. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
Game One
 
The opening game of the doubleheader was a marathon, with pitching owning the early innings.
 
Fresh off a Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Week award, Peyton Sorrells worked in and out of trouble all game long. While CSU went quietly through the first three innings, Sorrells stranded four runners including a runner at third in the second and third innings.
 
The Lady Cougars broke through in a scoreless game in the fourth. Kia Smith singled to start the inning and stole second. Calli Star advanced her to third with a sacrifice bunt, but CSU was unable to get her home with one away. Needing a base hit to bring the first run across, Kailey Boone delivered. The senior went the opposite way for a knock that scored Smith and gave the Lady Cougars a 1-0 edge.
 
In the sixth, Columbus State picked up four straight hits to start the inning and put two more runs on the board. Rachel Rhodes doubled to the wall in centerfield to score McKenzie Fagioli, and Keeli Waugh singled home Boone to make it 3-0.
 
Palm Beach Atlantic finally got to Sorrells in the bottom half of the sixth. The Sailfish sent nine batters to the plate, tying the game with a pair of RBI singles and a bases loaded walk.
 
Neither team got a runner past first base in the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.
 
Columbus State went in order in the eighth, but PBA had a chance to win it. With Sorrells still in the circle, the Sailfish had a pair of one-out singles to put the potential winning run on second base. The freshman worked out of danger though, getting a couple a ground balls to send the game to the ninth.
 
Both teams went quietly in the ninth, setting up the Lady Cougars to win it in the 10^th.
 
Star led off the 10^th inning with an infield single and was pinch run for by Madison Moseley. Fagioli laid down a sacrifice bunt, but reached safely after a PBA error. Boone then came through in the clutch again, singling to left to put CSU in front.
 
Lee Anne Rees added some cushion later in the inning, picking up a single with the bases loaded that allowed two runs to score.
 
Palm Beach Atlantic made things interesting in the bottom half, getting back-to-back singles to start the inning and bring the tying run to the plate. Sorrells then induced a groundout and a double play to wrap up an opening game victory.
 
Sorrells (8-3) went all 10 innings for the Lady Cougars for her team-leading eighth win. The right-hander allowed just the three runs, despite giving up 15 hits. Sorrells stranded 13 runners in the game.
 
Boone led the offensive attack, going 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and two more driven in. Fagioli (2-for-4), Waugh (2-for-5) and Elizabeth Perdue (2-for-4) each had multi-hit games.
 
Game Two
 
Palm Beach Atlantic struck first in Tuesday's second game, getting a two-out RBI single in the first inning to move in front.
 
Columbus State answered right back though, getting two in the second. Fagioli and Boone started the inning with back-to-back singles. Waugh tied the game at one with a single back through the middle and Katie White walked with the bases loaded to put CSU in front.
 
The game held at 2-1 in CSU's favor until the sixth when the Lady Cougars added an insurance run. Star singled home Kayleigh Briant to stretch the lead out to two.
 
After four straight scoreless innings, Lady Cougar starting pitcher Hanna Manley ran into trouble in the sixth. A solo home run brought the Sailfish within one and a one-out double put the tying run in scoring position. With two away, PBA picked up consecutive run-scoring hits to seesaw back on top at 4-3.
 
Fagioli reached on an error to start the seventh, but that was the only baserunner of the inning as the Lady Cougars ended up with the split.
 
Manley (4-4) went all six innings in the circle for CSU. The junior allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits.
 
Star (2-for-4) and Perdue (2-for-3) led the offensive attack in the second game.