FLORENCE, S.C. – The Georgia College Softball team (29-11, 10-2 PBC) outlasted Francis Marion University (18-22, 4-12 PBC) twice on the road Wednesday, taking games 8-7 and 5-4.

In game one, the Bobcats jumped up early and hung on as the Patriots mounted a comeback.

The Bobcats led 6-0 after five innings, including a big three-run third. Haley Howell (Rochelle, Georgia) had an RBI double, and Lindley Bruce (Kennesaw, Georgia) a run-scoring single in the inning.

The Patriots got three runs in the sixth, and the Bobcats answered with one in the seventh for a 7-3 lead. It was a good thing they did, as FMU added three more runs in the seventh for the 7-6 final. Jessica Harney swatted a three-run home run in the seventh for FMU, but the Patriots could get no closer.

Bruce finished 4-for-4 with the RBI in game one, and leftfielder Holland Coursey (Sugar Hill, Georgia) added three hits in five trips with an RBI. Shortstop Amber Coy (Warner Robins, Georgia) and first baseman Sutton Long (Milledgeville, Georgia) each had two hits, Coy scoring twice and Long driving in one.

Starter Jessie Morris (Vidalia, Georgia) threw 5 1/3 innings with three runs for the win, while Danielle Rubin (Canton, Georgia) got her first career save by tossing 1 2/3 innings.

Game two featured a comeback effort for the Bobcats. Georgia College trailed 4-2 into the sixth.

Bruce led the inning with a double, and pinch runner Hannah Coursey (Sugar Hill, Georgia) took third and home via wild pitches. Holland Coursey later supplied a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and with two out, centerfielder Caroline Snider (Tennille, Georgia) ripped a liner to short that was too hot for the shortstop to handle, scoring the go-ahead run.

Junior Kayla Price (Indian Land) entered in the first inning with one out and went the rest of the way for the win. Pitching with the lead in the bottom of the seventh, Price retired the Patriots 1-2-3. She scattered five hits and two walks for a single run and struck out one.

Snider finished the second game 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Bruce added a 2-for-4 effort, combining for 5-for-7 over the two games.

The Bobcats are back in action Saturday, April 14 at noon, playing host to Flagler College.

The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the 2017 PBC Sportsmanship Institution of the Year, 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.