COLUMBUS, Ga. - The Lander softball team played Columbus State University about as close as possible Saturday afternoon, but lost a pair of one-run Peach Belt Conference games at Cougar Field. Columbus won the first game, 2-1, in eight innings, then edged the Bearcats, 4-3, in the second contest.
The Cougars improve to 34-8 overall and 10-2 in the PBC, while Lander is 19-16, 4-8.
In the first game, Columbus State's Kristi Bullard earned the win as she struck out eight, walked two and allowed one unearned run on seven hits in the complete eight innings.
Hayley Leissner took the loss in relief after striking out eight, walking two and allowing one unearned run on one hit in 3.2 innings. M.K. Pegram started the game and struck out two, walked three and allowed one earned run on two hits in four innings.
Columbus took a 1-0 lead in the third on Morgan Staffins' solo homer to left field.
The Bearcats came back and tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth after Morgan Robinson, who reached on a double, scored on Casey Corbitt's sacrifice bunt.
The Cougars won the game in the eighth when Keeley Kennedy scored from third on a Lander fielding error.
For Lander, Brittney Sheriff went 2-for-3 and Chasity Davis batted 2-for-4.
In the second game, CSU's Kelsey Gilliam earned the win in relief after striking out two, walking one and allowing two earned runs on six hits in five innings pitched.
Leissner was tagged with the loss after striking out five and allowing three earned runs on 13 hits in 5.1 innings pitched.
Kara Gordon's homer to left field gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
Lander came back in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead on back-to-back RBI singles by Rachelle Adkins and Jaime Presnell that scored Taylor Donson and Davis.
CSU retaliated in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-2 lead on RBI singles by Morgan Knight and Nina Rubio.
Robinson's sixth-inning RBI single plated Presnell and tied the game at 3-3.
The Cougars answered with Gordon's second homer of the day for the winning run in the sixth.
For Lander, Presnell batted 3-for-4.
