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COLUMBUS – The Columbus State University softball team kicked off the weekend in style with a doubleheader sweep of Lander on Saturday. The Peach Belt Conference games were played at Cougar Field.
Columbus State (17-14, 5-3 PBC) won the opener 4-0 and followed it up with a 6-2 victory in the nightcap.
"We hit a little bit of a rough pitch against some really good teams over the last two weeks," head coach
Brad Huskisson said. "Lander is another strong team and I thought we played well in every facet of the game today."
The Lady Cougars will play host to USC Aiken on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
Game One
CSU didn't need much offense in Saturday's opener as
Darby Demarest was lights out in the circle.
The junior kept Lander hitless through the first four innings, finally allowing her first hit to lead off the fifth. Demarest was undeterred though, rolling along on her way to a two-hit shutout.
Demarest (8-7) struck out seven in her sixth straight complete-game effort. She now has four shutouts on the year.
The offense got the only run it would need in the second inning on a RBI single from
Kristin Studds.
The game then became the
Kirstin Reynolds show with the freshman hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning and a two-run opposite-field shot in the fifth.
Reynolds finished the game 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Studds was 2-for-2 with the RBI.
Game Two
The offense was slow starting in game two, being held scoreless through the first four innings and trailing 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth.
Consecutive singles from
JoJo Beyer and
Kristin Studds put the tying runs aboard, but they were still standing on second and third with two outs.
Kia Smith cut the deficit in half with a sharp liner off the glove of the second baseman and
McKenzie Fagioli worked a walk to load the bases.
Elizabeth Perdue promptly unloaded them with a long home run to left-centerfield, her fourth grand slam of the season.
The Lady Cougars tacked on another run just for good measure with a double from
Calli Star and a single from Reynolds that brought Star across the plate.
Helen Snavely started in the circle for the Cougars, working four innings with two runs allowed.
Peyton Sorrells (7-3) picked up the win with a pair of scoreless innings in relief.
Smith and Studds each had two hits for the Lady Cougars, who got at least one hit from eight of nine starters.
