by Alex Cooper, sports information assistant

COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Georgia College Softball team (9-3) split its first two games of the Cougar Classic I in Columbus Saturday, defeating Lincoln Memorial University (1-2) 6-2 before falling to Florida Tech (8-2) by a score of 6-5.

The Bobcats got the day started right as they came out firing on all cylinders against LMU. After a Holland Coursey (Sugar Hill) single in the bottom of the first, junior Abi LeRoy (Dublin) doubled to right center to give Georgia College a 1-0 lead.

After the Railsplitters tied the game in the third, the Bobcats exploded for three runs in their half of the inning. With sophomore Danielle Bernstein (Cumming) and Holland Coursey on base, LeRoy singled to drive in Bernstein. Junior Taylor Campbell (Warner Robins) followed with a RBI groundout to plate Holland Coursey. Kristen Humphries (Columbus) then singled in LeRoy for a 4-1 Bobcat lead.

Those runs would be all pitcher Marisa Boyette (Marietta) would need. The junior tossed her sixth-consecutive complete game, allowing just two runs over seven innings. Boyette struck out 14 batters, the most by a Georgia College pitcher since Mandy Chandler did the same March 4, 2009 against Barry University. Boyette improved her record to 6-0 on the season, the most wins in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC).

Game two of the day saw the Bobcats get the home run swing going, but that was not enough to knock off the Panthers of Florida Tech. Freshman Hannah Coursey (Sugar Hill) hit the first home run of her career, a solo blast in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 1-1. Lacey Najafi (Suwanee) made it back-to-back round trippers when she left the yard to give the Bobcats a 2-1 lead.

After Florida Tech hit a grand slam in the top of the fourth to take a 5-2 advantage, Najafi hit her second home run in as many at bats, this time a two run shot, plating Hannah Coursey to pull Georgia College within one run. It was Najafi's third home run of the season. LeRoy singled later in the inning to tie the game at five, bringing home Bernstein.

The Panthers would plate the winning run in the sixth on an Audrey Gangloff single. Sophomore Carly Lewis (Seymour, Tennessee) took the loss in the circle, allowing five earned runs in a complete game, her fifth of the year.

Holland Coursey would finish the day 4-for-7, raising her season average to .529, good for seventh in the PBC. LeRoy's five RBI on the day give her 12 this year, which is tied for fifth in the conference. 

The Bobcats are back in action tomorrow, Feb. 15, taking on Belmont Abbey College at 12:30 p.m. followed by a game with Tusculum College at 3 p.m. to round out the Cougar Classic I.

The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at @GCBobcats on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.