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By: Stephen Williams

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Finishing up the conference schedule, the Columbus State University softball team picked up a split of Sunday's doubleheader at No. 14 Armstrong State. The games were played at the Armstrong Softball Field in Savannah, Ga.
 
Columbus State (25-26, 9-15 PBC) dropped the opening game 8-0, before hanging on for a thrilling 4-3 win in the second.
 
The Lady Cougars will close out the regular season on Tuesday with a home doubleheader against Albany State. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Cougar Field.
 
Game One
 
The opening game belonged to Armstrong State (35-11, 19-5) after a low-scoring start.
 
Columbus State starter Peyton Sorrells held the Pirate offense quiet, allowing just one run over the first four innings.
 
The Pirates finally got to Sorrells in the fifth. A single, double and intentional walk chased the freshman from the game. Darby Demarest entered and struck out the first two batters she faced. Trying to get out of the inning with just a one-run deficit, Demarest surrendered a two-run single and a RBI double that made it 4-0.
 
Armstrong added four more runs in the sixth to end the game early via the mercy rule.
 
Katie White and Rachel Rhodes had the only two hits of the game for the Lady Cougars.
 
Sorrells took the loss after allowing five runs on 10 hits in 4.1 innings.
 
Game Two
 
Sunday's second game belonged to CSU freshman Elizabeth Perdue.
 
Perdue broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a one-out solo home run. One inning later, she came up with the bases loaded and added two more runs to the Lady Cougar lead with a double.
 
A three-run homer in the sixth tied the game for the Pirates, but Perdue wasn't done yet.
 
With two down and a runner on second in the seventh, Perdue hit her second double of the game to give Columbus State a 4-3 lead.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, an error and two walks loaded the bases with nobody out. Clinging to a one-run lead, the Lady Cougars were able to coax a pair of ground balls to shortstop, on which Calli Star threw the potential tying run out at the plate.
 
With the bases still loaded and now two outs, Sorrells was able to get a fly out to end the game and salvage the split for the Lady Cougars.
 
Perdue was 3-for-4 in the second game, driving in all four CSU runs. Kia Smith was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate.
 
Demarest gave up just three runs in five-plus innings of work. Sorrells (12-8) earned the win in relief with two scoreless innings.