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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – The Columbus State University softball team split its Peach Belt Conference doubleheader against Georgia College on Friday. The games were played at Cougar Field.
 
Columbus State (15-13-1, 3-1 PBC) dropped the opener 3-2 before bouncing back for a 6-1 win in the second.
 
"I felt pretty good about our play today," head coach Brad Huskisson said. "We battled in the opening game and got our bats going in game two."
 
The Lady Cougars will continue conference play against Augusta on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Cougar Field.
 
Game One
 
Georgia College (20-12, 6-2) struck first with an unearned run in the top of the second.
 
CSU's offense woke up in the fourth, stringing together four hits and a walk to take the lead. Calli Star and Kayleigh Briant singled with one down and Elizabeth Perdue knotted the game at one with a single back through the middle. After a walk, Kristen Studds dropped a ball into shallow right field to make it a 2-1 game.
 
The Bobcats answered right back however, getting a run via a double steal in the fifth.
 
With the game still tied at two, GC edged back in front with a bases loaded single in the seventh that proved to be difference in the game.
 
CSU got the tying run to second in the bottom half of the inning, but failed to bring her home as the Bobcats took game one.
 
Helen Snavely (4-5) went the distance for the Lady Cougars, but took the loss allowing the three runs.
 
Game Two
 
It was Georgia College that got on the board first in the second game as well, using a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead in the first.
 
The lead was short-lived though as Star doubled home McKenzie Fagioli in the bottom half to tie the game at one.
 
In the second, CSU moved in front with a two-run home run off the bat of Keeli Waugh. Fagioli added on two batters later with a double that brought home Kia Smith.
 
Perdue put another run on the board in the third with a missile over the wall in centerfield. Later in the inning, Kristen Studds stroked her first home run in a Lady Cougar uniform with a line drive to left.
 
From there, Darby Demarest took care of the rest in the circle. The sophomore tossed six scoreless innings after giving up the run in the first and gave the Lady Cougars the split.
 
Demarest (4-4) allowed one run on five hits in the complete-game victory.
 
Waugh, Fagioli and Mary Horne all had 2-for-3 showings to lead the nine-hit attack in game two.