COLUMBUS - The Columbus State University softball team took both games to open up the annual CSU Classic beating Lynn 4-0 and following it up with an 8-7 comeback win over Barry. The tournament took place at Cougar Field in Columbus. 

"Incredible start to our tournament play with two games that went in the opposite direction of each other but still resulted in two wins," said head coach Brad Huskisson. "Darby (Demarest) was unbelievable inside the circle and we're so proud to see her finish off the no-hitter. Then to comeback after being down 5-0 and walk it off, this team is gaining important experience which we'll be able to rely upon as the season progresses."

The Lady Cougars will play two games Saturday in the second day of the tournament. They're scheduled to play at 3:00 p.m. against King and then in the final game of the day at 7:00 p.m. against Coker. 

Game One

The story of the opening game of the CSU Classic was the lights-out pitching performance from Darby Demarest. The senior pitched the first full no-hitter of her career going 7.0 innings while striking out six. Demarest (4-2) was part of a no-hitter last season in the PBC Tournament but this time around she went the distance throwing 117 pitches inside the circle. 

The Lady Cougars would get a couple of early runs to get the scoring started as two freshmen Elyse Ambrose and Morgan Elston teamed up for RBI-knocks to give CSU a 2-0 lead after two innings. 

Demarest would come back out and retire the side in the third inning to give her six batters in a row that she sent back to the dugout. After a walk and a one-out error, Lynn had runners on second and third in the fourth inning to threaten the potential shutout. The senior dug in deep grabbing a foul pop up and stranding the runners with a strikeout to end the top half of the inning.

Columbus State would add two more on the board in the fifth thanks to Maddie Dodson hitting a two-RBI single to make it 4-0. 

From there Demarest went back to work, allowing just one runner to reach the base paths in the final two innings before a groundout to third completed the no-hitter. 

Elston was 3-for-4 at the plate with one run and one RBI while Dodson added two RBI's off her lone hit of the day. 

Game Two

While pitching got the job done in game one, game two went the exact opposite route as the Lady Cougars watched Barry plate five runs in the top of the first to fall into a large hole. 

They would get two of those runs back in the bottom half of the frame as Elyse Ambrose jacked her second home run of the season. 

But the Lady Cougars would give those two run directly back to Barry after an error to make the score 7-2. Yet from there the Lady Cougars would spend each inning slowly chipping away at the lead. 

In the third it was Elston hitting her second home run of the season down the left field line to make it 7-4. Elston would finish 2-for-3 in the second game with two RBI's and two runs. 

One inning later Madeline Parker singled with two on to bring in another run making it just a two run deficit heading to the fifth inning. 

With Hannah Rose Corbin coming in relief early in the first inning for CSU, she helped the Lady Cougars continue to put zeroes up on the scoreboard. In the fifth she went three up, three down to retire her fifth batter in a row. 

From there the Lady Cougar offense went to work one more time. Corbin led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk and following a single from Elston, it was Ambrose who picked up the RBI on a fielder's choice. The very next batter Elizabeth Perdue single to right center to bring in the tying run making it 7-7 through five innings. 

After retiring the side in the sixth and seventh innings, it was Corbin who was slated to lead off for the Lady Cougars in the bottom of the seventh. The reigning Peach Belt Conference freshman of the week wasted no time to end it. On a 2-0 pitch Corbin blasted a no-doubter to left center, her third home run this season to send the CSU dugout into a frenzy. 

Ambrose finished 1-for-3 scoring twice and picking up three RBI's while Corbin finished 2-for-3 with two runs and the game-winning home run. Corbin (3-2) also picked up the win, going 6.0 innings inside the circle giving up three runs (0 earned) while striking out five.