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By: Josh Fuller

COLUMBUS – The Columbus State University baseball team earned a series victory on Saturday splitting a doubleheader with Young Harris at Burger King Stadium at Ragsdale Field.
 
The Cougars took the first game 7-4 before the Mountain Lions grabbed a 2-0 win in the series finale. After taking two of three from YHC, CSU is now 12-8 and 7-2 in Peach Belt Conference play.
 
"Overall we played pretty well this weekend," stated head coach Greg Appleton. "We continued to pitch at a high level, but we have to stop leaving base runners on. Eventually, that will catch up to you."
 
The Cougars will have a few days off before taking on Albany State on March 15 in Albany. First pitch is at 4 p.m.
 
Game One
 
Columbus State jumped all over Young Harris in the first inning scoring three runs and eventually opened up a 8-0 lead after four innings.  In the first, Turner Vincent drove in the first run with a single to right before Lake Hart pushed a run across on a fielder's choice. Grant Berry made it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly.
 
Hart made it 5-0 in a hurry in the third with his first homer of the year over the wall in right field. An inning later, the Cougars added two more runs as they took advantage of a YHC error.
 
After keeping Young Harris off the board for seven innings, Brandon Koehler finally allowed runs in the eighth. Koehler (3-1) worked around trouble all day, but managed to keep the Mountain Lions off the board. The righty allowed just one run on eight runs over eight innings. He struck out four while issuing just two walks.
 
Jarrod Little tossed a scoreless ninth to complete the win.
 
Tyler Fichter led the way with a 3-for-4 performance with two stolen bases and two runs scored. Hart was 1-for-4 with the homer and three RBIs.
 
Game Two
 
Columbus State had base runners all over the place in game two, but didn't manage to score as the Cougars fell 2-0.  
 
CSU outhit YHC 11-10, but left nine runners on base.
 
The game was scoreless heading to the eighth before Young Harris took the lead. CSU starter Luke Porter didn't allow a Mountain Lion to reach second after the second inning before YHC got a one-out solo homer in the eighth. Young Harris added a double and a single to make it 2-0.
 
CSU got two hits in the eighth, including a leadoff single from Austin Collins. However, he was thrown out on the base paths to erase the threat. In the ninth, the Cougars got a pinch-hit single from Dylan Tomlin with two outs before a groundout ended the game.
 
Earlier in the game, the Cougars had chances to score in the first and fifth innings, but had runners thrown out at the plate to end each opportunity. Vincent was thrown out in the first as he was trying to score on a throwing error, but a YHC fielder backed up the play at third and was able to get the ball to the catcher, who applied the tag. Justin Evans was caught trying to steal home in the fifth and got caught in a run down.
 
The Cougars had four players with two hits. Fichter was 2-for-5 with a double. Mason McClellan was 2-for-3 with Hart and Jamal Howard also finishing with a pair of hits.
 
Porter (1-2) was hit with the tough loss. The righty allowed just the two runs over 7.1 innings. He scattered eight hits while striking out seven.