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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – The Columbus State University softball team rolled to a pair of victories on Sunday over Augusta. The Peach Belt Conference doubleheader was played at Cougar Field.
 
The Lady Cougars (17-13-1, 5-1 PBC) earned an 8-0 mercy rule victory in the opener and followed it up with a 7-3 win in game two.
 
"This was a great end to the weekend," head coach Brad Huskisson said. "We were able to feed off our win on Friday and get two more important conference wins."
 
Columbus State will venture out for its first conference road games next weekend. The Lady Cougars will travel to USC Aiken on Saturday and Lander on Sunday.
 
Game One
 
CSU dominated Sunday's opener, getting all eight runs in the first two innings.
 
Calli Star got the Lady Cougars off on the right foot with a two-out RBI single in the first that drove home McKenzie Fagioli.
 
The floodgates then opened in the second. Two singles and an error loaded the bases and CSU tallied its first run of the frame behind another Augusta error.
 
Keeli Waugh drew a bases loaded walk to make it 3-0 and Kia Smith tacked on another with a sacrifice fly. Fagioli kept the run parade going with a two-run single to right-centerfield that chased the Jaguar starting pitcher.
 
Elizabeth Perdue and Savanna Turvy capped off the seven-run inning with RBI singles.
 
Darby Demarest handled the rest for the Lady Cougars, as the sophomore dominated the Jaguars. Augusta (7-29, 2-6) managed just four baserunners over the five innings.
 
Demarest (5-4) allowed just one hit on the day with eight strikeouts.
 
Game Two
 
It was Star again in game two that started the scoring for CSU, this time driving Smith in with a groundout in the first.
 
In the third, Augusta extended the inning with a two-out error that the Lady Cougars made them pay for. Kayleigh Briant singled to center to score Fagioli and stretched the CSU lead to 2-0.
 
After the Jaguars plated their first run of the day in the fifth, CSU answered right back. Briant again did the damage, scoring Smith with a sacrifice fly.
 
Columbus State put the game away in the sixth, adding four insurance runs. Waugh doubled home Johanna Beyer and then scored on a single from Smith.
 
Briant capped off a strong performance later in the frame with a two-run single to put the final nail in the coffin.
 
Smith and Briant were the offensive catalysts in game two, each going 2-for-3. Smith scored three runs, while Briant drove in four.
 
Peyton Sorrells (6-2) gave up one unearned run in five innings of work for her team-leading sixth win of the season. Demarest recorded her third save of the season, pitching out of seventh inning trouble.