AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Lander women's softball team dropped its ninth straight game Tuesday when GRU Augusta claimed a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader at Jaguar Field. The Jags won the first game, 9-3, and the second, 4-3.

GRU Augusta improves to 27-11 overall and 13-7 in the PBC, while Lander moves to 12-26, 6-16.

In the first game, GRU Augusta's Paige Deschaine (13-1) earned the win, striking out eight, walking two and allowing three earned runs on seven hits in the complete seven innings.

Lander's Hannah Newton (8-14) suffered the loss with three strikeouts, six walks and six earned runs on nine hits in six innings.

The Jaguars took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Molly Walton went home on a wild pitch and stretched the lead to 4-0 in the third on Mallory Ferguson's two-run homer to centerfield and Brianna Dickens' RBI double.

Lander trim the lead to 4-1 in the fourth on Casey Kent's RBI double that plated Dariean Ward, then added two more runs in the sixth when Emily Marousek belted a two-run shot to left field.

GRU Augusta finalized the scoring with five runs in the sixth on RBI singles by Caitlyn Glenn and Hannah Vaughn, Kristen Bagley advanced on an error, Walton on a wild pitch, and Hannah Wilson crossed the plate on Brooke Stephens' sacrifice fly.

For Lander, Casey Wooten batted 2-for-4.

In the second game, the Bearcats went up 2-0 on Halie Sorrow's RBI double in the first that scored Destiny Clyde, and MaKenzie Smith's RBI groundout that plated Kent.

Augusta cut it to 2-1 in the third after Stephens drove in Vaughn with an RBI single.

Ward's RBI double scored Wooten in the fifth to give Lander a 3-1 advantage, then the Jaguars rallied for three runs in the seventh to secure the come-from-behind win when Ashley Benton scored on a wild pitch and Wilson's two-RBI single drove in Casey Rowland and Walton.

GRU Augusta's Haley Birkley (13-8) was awarded the victory on the mound, walking two and allowing three earned runs on 11 hits in the complete seven innings.

Newton was tagged with her second loss of the day, walking six and allowing four earned runs on five hits in 6.1 innings.

For Lander, Ward batted 3-for-4, while Wooten and Reychel Webster had two hits apiece.