DAHLONEGA, Ga. -Augusta State fell 6-2 and 7-3 to North Georgia on Thursday afternoon in a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader in Dahlonega, Ga.

With the loss, Augusta State dropped to 16-13 overall and 2-4 in the league, while North Georgia improved to 18-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

In game one, the Saints pushed a run across courtesy of an error in the opening inning before Leslee Smith stepped to the plate and crushed her fourth home run of the year to bring Courtney McGuire and Kasey Knight home and make it a 4-0 first-inning lead.

Augusta State responded with a pair of runs in the third frame as Leann Barber reached on an error and a throwing error brought Kayla Adams and Sara Demuth racing to the plate to cut the North Georgia lead in half at 4-2.

Hilary Cox and Jessica Skeels both notched RBI hits later in the game as the Saints went on to win the opener 6-2 over the Jaguars.

Sophomore Jennifer Miller (5-5) suffered the loss in game one, lasting 3.0 innings and giving up five runs on five hits while striking out one. Relieving Miller in the fourth was freshman DeMuth, giving up only two hits and booking a strikeout.

In game two, it was the Jaguars' turn to get on the board first as they scored two runs in the third inning on just one hit, but took advantage of two North Georgia errors to take the lead. Angii Verbeelen reached on an error to bring home Barber for the first run of the inning, and Verbeelen scored later in the frame as Kacee Camp reached on an error to give Augusta State a 2-0 third-inning advantage.

The Saints' bats were held in check until the fourth inning when McGuire led off with her team-leading fifth home run of the season to put North Georgia on the board and cut the Jaguars' lead in half at 2-1. Kim Stercay came to the plate later in the inning with the bases jammed and singled to right center to bring home two more runs and give the Saints a 3-2 lead.

North Georgia continued their offensive surge in the fifth inning with four more runs on as many hits to take a 7-2 lead. Smith and Skeels provided RBI hits for the Saints, while Stercay doubled home another run to cap the four-run fifth inning.

Augusta State added a single run in the sixth inning on a double by Sara Dumuth to plate Jessica Thornton and make it a 7-3 game, a score that held true to the final out.

Freshman Emily Corish earned the start, pitching 3.0 innings, and gave up four hits and had one strikeout. Junior Kimberly Kennedy (5-1) received the loss in relief, tossing 1.1 innings and giving up four runs on four hits while striking out one.

Demuth and Verbeleen paced the Lady Jags offensively with two hits on the day, while DeMuth had an RBI. Juniors Barber, Kayla Adams, Alysha Krier and freshman Jessica Thornton and Kristen Jones each had a safety on the day.

ASU is back in action on Saturday, March 14, when they travel to Americas, Ga. for a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader against Georgia Southwestern. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m.