COLUMBUS, Ga. – A solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning tied the ballgame, and a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth sent home the winning run for Columbus State as the Lady Cougars took a 3-2 Peach Belt Conference victory from UNCP in the first game of Friday's doubleheader in Columbus, Ga.

The Lady Braves (14-13, 2-3 PBC) took the lead after a two-run fifth inning behind consecutive RBI-singles by freshmen Schanique Barrett and Taylor Cloninger that scored seniors Morgan Patrick and Loren Bartz in order, but a solo homer by Kara Gordon pushed the game into extra innings. Gordon then took ball four with the bases loaded to score Casey Googe in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Lady Cougars (26-7, 6-1 PBC) their ninth win in their last ten games.

Sophomore Starr Gilley was credited with a no decision after allowing six hits and two earned runs over 6-1/3 innings while striking out three batters. Caroline Newman took the loss after allowing one run in 1-1/3 innings in the circle.

Senior Courtney Hill led the squad with a 2-for-4 day at the dish while Barrett and Cloninger added matching 1-for-4 efforts with one RBI apiece. Patrick and fellow senior Lynn Grantham each added one hit in three at-bats for the Lady Braves.