COLUMBUS - In its first true doubleheader since the first weekend of the season, the Columbus State University softball team split a pair of games against Wingate on Saturday. All the action took place at Cougar Field in Columbus.

Wingate took game one 10-4 before the Cougars responded with a 6-3 win in the nightcap.

"We just made too many mistakes in the first game," added head coach Brad Huskisson. "After the third, we needed a shutdown inning, and what happened was the complete opposite."

"In game two, Hannah Rose [Corbin] threw the ball well. It was good to see the team bounce back to get the win. We are going to need to start sweeping a few of these doubleheaders moving forward."

Up Next

Columbus State will stay in Columbus to host the Cougar Red-White-Blue Classic on March 6 and 7. On Friday, March 6, the Cougars will play Erskine (2:30 p.m.) and West Alabama (7:30 p.m.).

Game One

Wingate (7-7) jumped out to 2-0 lead in the first against CSU starter Harley Dawson. Two singles and a sacrifice bunt going things going for the Bulldogs before a wild pitch made it 1-0. Mary Clair Coyne followed with an RBI single to extend the lead. Dawson was to escape before any other harm was done.

In the third, Dawson gave Columbus State some momentum after striking out the final two hitters to strand a leadoff double at third. The offense answered the call with a three-spot to take the lead. Two errors helped along the way, but a two-out double by Paige Vincent put the Cougars ahead 3-2.

However, the Bulldogs had an answer. Wingate platted four runs in the fourth following some Cougar miscues. The Columbus State defense made two errors while a passed ball also allowed a run to score. Coyne had another clutch hit for Wingate to drive in a pair.

Columbus State couldn't get anything going from there. Paris Poston did get a run back with a solo home in the fourth, but that was all as the Cougars fell in game one.

Dawson (4-3) took the loss allowing six runs, two earned. 

Vincent (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs) had the lone multi-hit day for the Cougars.

Game Two

The Bulldogs threatened at the sweep going up 1-0 in the first. Two singles, including another run-scoring hit by Coyne, gave Wingate the early lead off of Columbus State starter Hannah Rose Corbin.

After being held to just one hit over the first two innings, the Cougar bats woke up in the third thanks to a leadoff single by Maddie Dodson. Emily Holmes followed with a walk before a sacrifice bunt had two Cougars in scoring position with one out for the heart of the lineup.

Morgan Elston would put the ball in play, but Wingate went to the plate to try to keep pinch-runner Madysion Brown from cross the plate. However, the throw wasn't in time tying the game at one. During the following at-bat, a throwing error by the catch on an Elston stolen base attempt allowed the Cougars to move in front.

Just like in game one, Wingate didn't allow Columbus State to remain ahead for long. With two outs and two on, Jessica VonCannon ripped a single to left to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead.

Columbus State tied the game in the fifth on a sacrifice fly off the bat from Madeline Parker before erupting for three runs in the sixth.

Caitlyn Canady and Poston began the frame with back-to-back singles before moving up on a sacrifice bunt. After a walk loaded the bases, singles by Katelyn Cooper and Elyse Ambrose put the Cougars ahead 6-3.

Wingate brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but Corbin got Haley Cashwell to groundout to secure the win. 

Corbin (3-3) tossed the complete game allowing three runs on seven hits. She struck out five. 

Cooper (2-for-3, run, RBI), Ambrose (2-for-3, RBI), and Canady (2-for-3, run) all had two hits in the game.

Cougar Notes & Trends

• Columbus State improves to 6-2 at Cougar Field this season.
• Over the past five games, Poston is 7-for-15 with two home runs and five RBIs. She has also scored five times.
• With her two RBIs in game one, Vincent becomes the first Cougar to drive in 10 or more runs this season. She leads the team with 11 RBIs. 
• In game two, Columbus State didn't record any extra-base hits. It was just the second time this that all of CSU's hits were singles.
• Corbin has won her last three starts at Cougar Field, all seven-inning complete games.