FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4-5-03

College Baseball: No. 25 Columbus State 1-4, No. 13 AASU 0-0

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The No. 25-ranked Columbus State Cougars hurled double shutouts against the No. 13-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates to sweep a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. CSU won the first game, 1-0, and took the second game, 4-0.

In the first game, it was another pitchers’ duel between the Pirates’ Katya Eronina and the Cougars’ Amanda Burson. Eronina and Burson each hurled six shutout innings, but the Cougars’ Jennifer Koch blasted a one-out home run to center field in the top of the seventh inning to plate the only run of the contest and give CSU (34-6, 9-3 PBC) the win. That would be all Burson needed as the senior limited the Pirates (30-8, 7-5 PBC) to five hits and two walks while striking out four in hurling the complete-game shuout and improving to 17-2 on the season. Eronina gave up just three hits and walked two while striking out 11 in taking the loss, falling to 17-3 on the year.

Game two started with another longball from the Cougars as Rachel Smith blasted a two-run home run in the top of the first, scoring Latoya Moffett and giving Columbus State a 2-0 lead. After a 35-minute rain delay in the bottom of the second inning, play resumed and Columbus State added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings to win, 4-0. Amy Krause hurled a three-hit shutout, striking out three to improve to 14-3 on the season. Delaney Warrian gave up all four runs and nine hits in seven innings to take the loss for AASU and fall to 13-5 on the year.

Saturday was the first time the Pirates have been shut out in a doubleheader since losing to North Florida by 2-0 scores on April 4, 2002, and the double shutout was the first for Columbus State against AASU in school history.

AASU will be next in action on Sunday, April 6, as the Pirates host USC Spartanburg at 1:00 p.m. in Peach Belt Conference action.

- Pirates -