RELATED: Softball's Strong First-Inning Too Much For Columbus State

PEMBROKE – Junior pitcher Katie Saunders was perfect from the circle through four innings and allowed one hit throughout her seven innings for the UNC Pembroke softball team to hold the visiting Columbus State Cougars scoreless in Peach Belt Conference action as the Braves clinched the 2-0 shutout win on Wednesday afternoon.

UNCP (19-17, 3-12 PBC) snapped a four-game losing streak this season including a 10-game skid in league action with the victory over Columbus State (19-18, 5-8) who dropped its second-consecutive contest.

Senior Megan Hillard and junior Whitney Jackson went 1-for-2 from the plate, while freshman Jamie Johnson also notched a hit to total UNCP's three hits. Both Taylor Gerhart and Hillard claimed and RBI each as Jackson and Hartley scored UNCP's two runs.

Saunders (10-10) grabbed the win in the middle for the Braves after giving up just one hit to Columbus State's Kristen Carr in the fifth inning. The Laguna Niguel, Calif. native faced just 22 batters and struck out eight with 81 total pitches.

The Cougars' Lindsay DeFee (3-8) suffered the loss in the middle as she gave up a pair of base hits to Jackson and Johnson to open up the first inning before walking Hartley and sending Gerhart to the plate with bases loaded. Another four balls sent Gerhart to first and brought home Jackson for the 1-0 lead.

The Braves added another run in the third inning as Hartley led off the inning by reaching first on a base-on-balls, moving to second when Gerhart was walked and crossed home plate as Hillard doubled along the left field line. Hartley's runs capped off the scoring campaign for both teams and delivered the 2-0 victory.