By: Bailey Clark, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

AUGUSTA, Ga.- Georgia College & State University Softball (21-13, 8-9 PBC) picked up a 10-6 win and a 7-3 loss with Augusta University (16-19, 3-14 PBC) in a Friday doubleheader. 

The Bobcat offense was hot in game one plating 10 runs on 13 hits. Jessica Owens (Social Circle) kicked off the scoring with a double to give GCSU the 2-0 lead. Mackenzie Martin (Dacula) drove Owens in for the third run of the first inning on a triple through the right side. Martin came around to score after an error by the Jaguar third baseman. 

GCSU hung a four spot in the first inning followed by a two-run fourth inning. Owens kept swinging the hot stick driving in two more runs on a dinger launched over the left-field wall to make it a 6-3 lead for Georgia College. Kam Caldwell (Athens) brought in the seventh Bobcat run on a left-field single. 

Georgia College dropped three runs on Augusta on an Owens bases-clearing triple to put the Bobcats up 10-5.

Owens went 4-for-5 with seven RBI and two runs scored as she hit for the cycle. She is the first Bobcat softball player to do so in recent history. 

Jana Shellhorse (McDonough) started in the circle with three earned runs coming around to score on seven hits in four innings of work. Montana Ledbetter (Hanna City, Illinois) picked up her second save of the season in her three innings of relief. She picked up five strikeouts while only two runs came across on three hits. 

Game two favored Augusta as the Bobcats were held to a mere three runs. The bat of Stephanie Condland (Hoschton) was the highlight of game two as all of the runs came off of her moonshot. Condland had a three-run blast in the top of the second inning for her not only her first collegiate home run but her first collegiate hit. 

Shelby Jones (Kissimmee, Florida) got the start in the circle with three earned runs coming around on five hits. Jones (8-6) also fanned three batters. 

The Bobcats are back in action Saturday, April 1 at 1:00 p.m. to finish up the series with Augusta. 

Owning the top Academic Success Rate among public schools in Division II, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won three-straight Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of both the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in post-season competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.