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ALBANY, Ga. – It was a historic night for Columbus State University softball player Kia Smith, as the Lady Cougars split a pair of games at Albany State on Wednesday. The nonconference doubleheader was played in Albany.
 
Columbus State (26-15) lost the opening game 3-2 before taking a wild 10-9 game in the second half.
 
Smith picked up three stolen bases in the doubleheader to break the program's career stolen base record. The senior now has 117 stolen bases in her four years, breaking the previous record of 116 held by Julie Garcia (1995-98).
 
The outfielder from Newnan, Ga. upped her total to 31 for the season, just five shy of the single-season record of 36 she set last year.
 
The Lady Cougars are back at Cougar Field on Saturday to take on Young Harris. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
Game One
 
Smith got the ball rolling in the opening inning of game one for the Lady Cougars with a one-out single. She then swiped her first bag of the day and scored the first run on a single from Calli Star.
 
Albany State responded in the bottom half though, following up a pair of walks with a three-run home run.
 
The Lady Cougars didn't have a hit over the next five innings, but did draw seven walks. However, CSU was unable to capitalize and the game went to the final inning with ASU still up 3-1.
 
With two outs in the seventh, Star added another run to the board with a solo home run. Kirstin Reynolds then drew a walk to put the tying run on base, but a fly out ended the game.
 
Darby Demarest (11-8) allowed just two hits in her six innings of work, striking out 10.
 
Game Two
 
Wednesday's second game looked to be smooth sailing with the Lady Cougars scoring nine runs through the first three innings.
 
McKenzie Fagioli started the scoring with a RBI single in the first inning. Elizabeth Perdue then doubled home a pair, including Smith who had tied the career stolen base record with her second of the day. Star capped a four-run inning with another RBI single.
 
CSU kept the runs coming in the third, putting five more up. Reynolds doubled home Fagioli to make it 5-0 before bases loaded walks to Maddie Dodson and Mary Horne pushed two more runs across.
 
Keeli Waugh and Smith added singles of their own to stretch the margin out to 9-0.
 
Albany State started chipping away at the lead with a run in the third and three more in the fourth. After CSU got one off an error in the fifth, the Lady Rams got four in the sixth to make it a 10-8 game.
 
Smith led off the seventh with a walk and proceeded to steal second to set the new record. The Lady Cougars were unable to get her home though, keeping the game at a two-run margin.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Albany State plated a run with two outs and had the potential tying and winning runs on the basepaths, but Helen Snavely induced a groundout to end it.
 
Snavely pitched the first three innings of the game and then picked up the final out for her third save of the season. Peyton Sorrells (11-3) got the win with three innings of relief work.
 
Waugh, Perdue and Star all had three hits as part of CSU's 14-hit game.