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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – With the regular season complete, the Columbus State University softball team will begin its postseason run on Friday with the quarterfinal round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. The two-day championship is being hosted at Georgia College in Milledgeville.
 
Columbus State (27-25-1) is back in the annual conference tournament for the first time in three years after posting a 12-12 mark in league play this season. The Lady Cougars received the sixth seed in the tournament and will open up with third-seeded Flagler on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
 
CSU owns five PBC Tournament championships, capturing the title in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2013. The Lady Cougars have won their last eight games in conference tournament play.
 
Columbus State dropped a doubleheader against Flagler on March 31 at Cougar Field. The Lady Cougars held a 5-1 lead in the opening game before allowing 10 runs in the seventh inning and falling 11-5. Flagler then took the second game 2-0.
 
Kia Smith and Elizabeth Perdue lead the Lady Cougar offense into the postseason. Smith posted a team-high .391 batting average during the regular season and set the program's single-season record with 36 stolen bases.
 
Perdue hit .329 for the Lady Cougars, leading the conference with 14 home runs and finishing second with 49 RBIs.
 
Darby Demarest and Peyton Sorrells anchored the CSU rotation in the circle. Demarest posted an 8-8 overall record with a 2.43 ERA. The sophomore struck out at least eight in each of her final five starts of the season, including 15 against Albany State last Wednesday. Sorrells was 8-5 during the regular season with a 2.97 ERA.