GREENWOOD, S.C. - The Columbus State University softball team couldn't complete a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, splitting a pair of games with Lander Univerity at Doug Spears Field in Greenwood, S.C.

CSU (18-17, 8-4 PBC) took the opener 5-3 before Lander won 6-4 in game two to grab the key Peach Belt Conference series. LU won 3-0 on Friday night in the series opener.

"You always want to win the series," commented head coach Brad Huskisson. "I felt like we were right there in all three of them, but mistakes and tough calls at the wrong times haunted us."

Game 1 | CSU 5, LU 3
It was a tale of two halves for the Cougars as the bats struggled to get going early. CSU was hitless until Kenzie Bayer broke the no-hit bid with a one-out single in the fifth. 

That was when the bats woke up in a big way for Columbus State. Following Bayer's single, the Cougars loaded the bases, as Laura Harris was hit by a pitch and Lindsey Patton found a hole for a single. Katelyn Cooper came up with the clutch hit, ripping a single up the middle to make it a 3-2 game.

The Cougars weren't done. Caitlyn Canady reloaded the bases with a single before Hannah Rose Corbin drew a bases-loaded walk and Paige Vincent lofted a sacrifice fly to put CSU on top 4-3. 

The attention then turned to the circle as Columbus Stater starter Jessica Lopez began the bottom of the fifth with her first lead of the day. Bridgett Tierney led off the inning with a single, but Lopez dug in. The righty retired the next seven hitters she faced to keep the Cougars ahead.

Columbus State began the seventh with a 5-3 lead following a solo homer by Madeline Parker in the sixth, but that didn't make things any easier in the bottom of the seventh. 

Lander collected two hits in its final at-bat, however, Corbin entered with two-ous and fanned Shannon Antonini for the final out of the game. CSU was helped in the inning after a runner was called out for interference. 

The Bearcats jumped on Lopez early as Antonini hit a solo homer with two outs in the first. LU added two more in the third after executing a squeeze bunt that scored two thanks to an error.

Bayer was 2-for-3 for the Cougars with a run scored. 

Lopez (3-5) grabbed her third win after punching out seven in 6.2 innings. She allowed three on eight hits. Corbin picked up her first save of the year

Game 2 | LU 6, CSU 4
Like they did all series long, Lander (28-7, 10-5) jumped on the Cougars with a first-inning run. Corbin nearly worked around a leadoff single but Barbara Cook ripped a two-out double to put LU up 1-0.

CSU didn't stay down long, scoring a run in the second. With Morgan Elston and Parker in scoring position, Laura Harris used her speed to force the issue. Harris chopped a roller to short and, due to a slight hesitation from the LU defense, beat the throw to reach safely and knock in Elston.

Corbin helped herself in the third with a two-run homer to give Columbus State a 3-1 lead.

After Harris drove in another run in the fourth on a groundout, things went south for the Cougars. Three singles, an error and a wild pitch pushed across three runs for the Bearcats to tie the game at four.

Lander continued its attack with back-to-back singles to begin the fifth. A sacrifice bunt and a groundout nearly had Corbin and the Cougars out of the inning, but a shallow pop-up at the second base changed the course of the game. Parker laid out for the catch, but the call on the field was that ball rolled out of her glove, allowing the go-ahead runs to score. 

CSU brought the tying run to the plate in both the sixth and seventh, but Lander was able to finish off the win.

Corbin was 2-for-3 with two extra-base hits, while Harris drove in two. Parker was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.

In the circle, Corbin fell to 13-7 after allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits. 

Abbie Behe was one of three Bearcats with two hits. Liz Gollin (9-2) struck out six in the complete-game effort.

UP NEXT
Columbus State waits until Saturday, April 9 to hit the field again when Young Harris College visits Columbus for a three-game series at Cougar Field. The two teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
• Corbin has reached base in 16 straight games. She had a 17-game streak earlier in the year
• Canady had an 11-game hitting streak snapped in game two. It was the longest streak by a CSU player this year
• Lopez set a season-high with her seven strikeouts in game two
• It's the first time CSU has lost a three-game series this year. The Cougars had won their previous four
• Columbus State and Lander are tied in the PBC standings after Saturday. The two teams could end the weekend tied for second, if the University of North Georgia finishes off a three-game sweep of Georgia Southwestern on Sunday