AMERICUS – The Georgia Southwestern softball team matched up against fellow Peach Belt Conference opponent Columbus State on Wednesday night. The two teams split the doubleheader. The Lady 'Canes won the first.
GAME 1: CSU 5 – GSW 9
In the first inning for Columbus State, their first run came in after the Lady 'Canes attempted to catch the runner stealing second; the runner on third made it home. The Lady 'Canes were unable to produce a run during their first inning and left two girls on base.
The next run for the Lady Cougars came in the third inning when Kristen Carr hit a single into the left field. This hit allowed the runner on third to come home. With a fumble on the ball the error allowed a second runner to score and the batter to make it to second base. The inning finished with one on base.
In an attempt to match the Lady 'Canes had bases loaded at the bottom of the third inning with two outs. Kiley Doster was up to bat as she hit a single up the middle. Nellie Moore made it home safely and in an attempt to get one more on the board, in the run home Keri Tompkins was taken out. Two GSW runners were left on base.
At the bottom of the fourth, Moore hit a high sacrifice fly out to left field that allowed Mason Moreland to make it home. The Lady 'Canes finished the inning with two left on base.
Up this point, the Lady 'Canes were able to leave eight Columbus State batters stranded on base.
In response to all of the GSW success, Columbus State's Carr hit a long ball over center field to hit a homerun to also bring in another runner. The Lady 'Canes were able to keep their defense strong and left one Lady Cougar on base.
Junior Lauren Thrasher came back in response at the bottom of the inning with a homerun over left center field to also bring in Rachel McElroy. The next run of the inning came from a hit by Haley Knight to bring in pinch runner Erin Steele, who came in for Doster after being hit by the pitch.
The next time the Lady 'Canes run came in the bottom of the sixth inning when McElroy hit a sacrifice fly out to right field to allow Tompkins to safely reach home. The next advance for the Lady 'Canes came from Clifton reaching after an error by the Lady Cougars. In this same play both Thrasher and Jordan Miller were able to score an unearned run. Following this, Moreland was out on a hit played from first to the second baseman, but Doster was able to reach home safely. One Hurricane was left on base.
At the top of the seventh, the Lady Cougars were unable to make another run. The Hurricanes ran away with the win 9-5.
Senior Allison Pastor (10-7) took the win after pitching all seven innings. Pastor allowed eight hits, five runs, and four walks and accomplished two strikeouts. Columbus State's Lindsey DeFee (3-4) takes the loss after pitching 1.1 innings, giving up two hits and four runs. Kristen Carr and Abby Green also made appearances, totaling seven hits and five runs between them.
Special Feature of the Night: The Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority sponsored a Pink Out to raise money for Brest Cancer research. The players, fans, and stands were decked out in their finest pink apparel.
GAME 2: CSU 10 – GSW 2
The Lady Cougars came out ready to play during the second game. They came up with three runs early from a double by Casey Googe and a single from Taylor Turner, in the first inning alone.
The Lady 'Canes had an exciting bottom of the third inning, with base hits and stolen bases, as the bases were loaded with one out. In hopes to bring one runner home, both Pastor and Tompkins were unable to bring them home. The Lady 'Canes left three stranded.
The next inning proved eventful as Carr achieved her second homerun of the evening. This was a solo trip around the bases for the Lady Cougars.
In the top of the fifth inning, Columbus State's Morgan Knight hit a homerun that hit the left side foul line pole. This hit brought in two runs. After which GSW made a pitching change to Allison Pastor.
The Lady 'Canes working on their comeback brought Chelsea Hodges up to bat. Hodges hit a double to left center allowing both Jordan Miller and McElroy to make it around the bases. The end of the inning left one runner on base.
In the top of the seventh inning, Columbus State ran away with the score adding four more runs to the six already existing. These runs came from simple base hits, doubles, and two fielding errors by the 'Canes.
Ashley Cavender (9-9) takes credit for the loss as she gave up seven hits and six runs. Pastor finished the game for the Lady 'Canes facing 16 batters. Between the two of them they struck out five batters.
Columbus State's Taylor Turner (7-7) took the win after pitching the whole game. Turner gave up six hits, two runs and two walks and struck out six.
The Lady 'Canes will be back in action at Lady 'Canes field on Friday to start their doubleheader at 3:00 p.m. against USC Aiken.