AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken softball team earned a doubleheader split with nationally 19th-ranked Columbus State on Sunday afternoon at J.H. Satcher Field.
Columbus State (31-15, 12-6 PBC) narrowly won game one, 1-0, and USC Aiken (22-18-1, 9-9 PBC) was able to pick up a split with a 6-2 victory in game two.
The Pacers will next be in action on the road on Wednesday, April 10 as they travel to Milledgeville, Ga. to take on Georgia College. The twinbill is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
USC Aiken will next be at home on Saturday, April 13 playing host to Lander. The doubleheader will serve as Senior Day for the Pacers. The twinbill is set to begin at 2 p.m.
Game 1: Columbus State 1, USC Aiken 0
Columbus State won the opening game of the doubleheader over USC Aiken, 1-0.
The lone run of the game came in the top of the fourth inning on a groundout by Bree Nowlin that scored Chandler Padgett. Padgett came in to pinch run for Taylor Turner, who walked to get on base.
The Pacers out-hit the Cougars in the pitchers' duel that was game one, 3-1. Kaitlyn White(McAllen, Texas/College of Charleston) was the only player with multiple hits in game one. White was 2-for-3 with a double.
India Kornegay (Eufaula, Ala./Eufaula HS) pitched a complete game, surrendering only one hit and no earned runs. Kornegay (12-10) was able to fan 15 Cougars in the loss.
In the second inning of the game Kornegay recorded her 700th career strikeout. She now has 709 in her career. Kornegay is now the sixth pitcher in Peach Belt Conference history to have 700 or more strikeouts.
Mollie Russell (16-8) got the win in game one for the Cougars. She also tossed a complete game.
Game 2: USC Aiken 6, Columbus State 2
USC Aiken secured a split of the doubleheader by defeating Columbus State 6-2 in game two.
The Pacer offense started fast, scoring the first three runs of the game. Cortney Sadler (Bradenton, Fla./State College of Fla., Manatee-Sarasota) hit a double to right center field in the first inning that drove in Victoria Burkett (Gilbert, S.C./Gilbert HS) and Sarah Montei (Summerville, S.C./Summerville HS). The Pacers added another run in the second inning when Brandy Bossle(North East, Md./Rising Sun HS) scored on a wild pitch to take a 3-0 lead.
The Cougars scored a run in the top of the third inning from a Kori Waugh home run. Columbus State added another run in the top of the fifth to cut the Pacer lead to 3-2. Waugh scored on a Casey Googe single to add the Cougars final run.
USC Aiken added three insurance runs in their next two at-bats.
Lindsey Jones (North Augusta, S.C./North Augusta HS) scored on an error in the bottom of the fifth inning. White drove in
Alyssa Cook (St. Leonard, Md./Aiken Tech), and
Shannon Traylor (Prosperity, S.C./Mid-Carolina HS) scored in the bottom of the sixth inning to push the lead to 6-2.
The Pacers out-hit the Cougars, 7-6, in game two. White and Sadler each collected multiple hits in game two, with Sadler going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs.
Branigan Wix and Kristen Carr each got two hits for the Cougars in game two.
Taylor Morgan (Chapin, S.C./Chapin HS) earned the complete-game victory for the Pacers in game two. Morgan (10-8) struck out 10, while surrendering only six hits.
Kristen Carr (5-2) took the loss for the Cougars, pitching two innings and giving up three runs.
