MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. | Georgia College & State University and Lander University split a Peach Belt Conference softball doubleheader Saturday (March 22) afternoon at Bobcat Softball Field.

The Bobcats won the opener 3-0, before the Bearcats scored six runs over the final two innings in the nightcap for a 6-4 victory.

With the split, the Bobcats won the PBC series over the Bearcats as they improved to 15-13 overall and to 9-3 in the league, while the Bearcats fell to 14-13 and 4-5. GCSU returns to action Tuesday (March 25) with a 3 p.m. doubleheader in Tigerville, South Carolina, against North Greenville University.

GCSU scored a run in the first inning of game one and added two more an inning later. Karlie Gutierrez had an RBI double to left field before Eliza Kuhne and Kam Caldwell had run-scoring singles in the second to take a 3-0 lead.

Tiffany Caban (7-2) earned the complete-game shutout in the circle for the Bobcats as she allowed two hits and two walks as she tallied nine strikeouts.

Caldwell and Sydney Lancaster had two hits apiece in the opener.

GCSU scored singles runs in the second, third and fourth innings of game two. Emily Hutcheson drove in the first run on a single to center. The Bobcats doubled their lead in the third on a Maddie Todd RBI single. Caldwell laced a run-scoring triple to left-center field in the fourth inning to push GCSU's lead to 3-0.

Kara Vonachen led off the sixth inning with a home run to right field before Samantha Burmgarner added a two-run long ball to straight-away center field to knot the game at 3.

The Bearcats broke the deadlock an inning later on Raquel Camuglia three-run homer to left field off reliever Shelby Jones (6-7) to open a 6-3 lead.

The Bobcats mounted one last rally in the bottom of the seventh. Caldwell led off with a double to right and moved to third on a single to center by Divina Checo. Caldwell scored on a Gutierrez RBI ground out, but Lander reliever Mattye Geddings (3-2) wiggled out of further harm as she registered two strikeouts and a pop up to end the game.

Caldwell had three of the eight hits for the Bobcats, while Todd tallied two.
 

About GCSU Athletics 
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for four consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won five consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of 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 postseason 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 or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics. 


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