COLUMBUS - Riley Patton threw the 23rd no-hitter in Columbus State University softball history on Tuesday afternoon as the Cougars (24-11, 8-4 PBC) blanked Albany State University (4-12) 8-0 in five innings in a non-conference game.

It's the first no-hitter for the Cougars since Darby Demarest tossed one against USC Aiken on March 15, 2019. In the five-inning outing, Patton struck out nine, while walking two to improve to 6-2 inside the circle.  

R. Patton wasted no time on Tuesday as the junior sat down the side in order in the first, including picking up a strikeout. The Loganville, Ga. native had three 1-2-3 innings in the run-rule victory and struck out six hitters in a row over the second and third.  

The Columbus State bats were hot as the Cougars scored at least one run in every inning. Caitlyn Canady singled to start the bottom of the first before Hannah Rose Corbin crushed her 14th home run of the season, a two-run shot over the left field fence to give CSU a 2-0 lead. 

After walking the leadoff batter in the top of the second, R. Patton struck out three in a row to head to the next half of the inning. There, Emily Holmes led off the inning with a single to centerfield before making her way around the bases thanks to a steal and advancing to third on a groundout. The second-year freshman ended up scoring off a throwing error, extending the Cougar's lead to three.

Second-year freshman Katelyn Cooper hit her second homer of her career to start things in the bottom of the third. Later in the inning, Corbin singled to left field and scored on an error to make it a 5-0 ballgame. 

Columbus State tacked on three more runs in the fourth to give them an 8-0. Holmes and Madeline Parker started the inning with back-to-back singles. Holmes scored on a groundout to make it 6-0 before back-to-back walks from Cooper and Corbin loaded the bases for freshman Lindsey Patton. L. Patton collected an RBI with a hard grounder to first base, while Morgan Elston singled to give Columbus State's eighth run of the game.

R. Patton now has 45 strikeouts on the season after her nine strikeout performance.

Corbin and Holmes each went a perfect 2-for-2, including Corbin's homer and two RBIs. Canady, Cooper and Elston each added one hit and one RBI, while Parker collected one hit and L. Patton one RBI.

The Cougars will play a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader against USC Aiken on Friday, April 23 with the first pitch set for 3 p.m. at J.H. Satcher Softball Field in Aiken, S.C.