FLORENCE, S.C. -- Augusta State worked its way through the loser's bracket Saturday at the Peach Belt Conference Softball Championships, registering three straight wins to advance to Sunday's championship game against No. 3 North Georgia.
The Jaguars, who stayed alive Friday afternoon with a 1-0 victory over UNC Pembroke, blanked Georgia College 6-0 Saturday morning, eliminated Flagler 3-1 and hammered No. 22 Armstrong Atlantic State 14-3 in the afternoon. The win over Flagler avenged Friday's 5-2 loss to the Saints in the second game of the tourney.
In the first game of the day, junior shortstop Kacee Camp drove in three runs and four different Jags had two hits each. Jessica Thornton, Renae Kimball and Laura Brown each had an RBI and Kacey Sims scored a pair of runs. Junior hurler Emily Headrick struck out six and allowed only four hits in 5.0 innings, and Heather Hughes worked the final two innings for the combined shutout.
Against Flagler, the Jags struck first with a run in the top of the first on a squeeze play and added two more in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. Although ASU managed only two hits, Headrick (17-5) surrendered just three hits to the Saints, Hughes again closed out the game, allowing one hit over the final 2.0 innings.
The Jags advanced to take on Armstrong and plated four runs in the top of the first. The Pirates pulled within 5-3 in the fourth before ASU broke the game open with three runs in the fifth and six more an inning later.
Thornton jacked her 11th home run of the season and Kristen Jones smacked her seventh homer, a three-run shot in the first. Thornton went 3-for-5 and Jones had four RBI. Destiny Echols, Sims and Macy Terry all drove in a pair of runs as the Jags pounded out 15 hits.
Hughes (12-8) yielded eight hits and two earned runs to pick up the win.
The Jags (34-17) will now take on third-ranked North Georgia on Sunday at 12:00 noon. ASU swept the Saints during the regular season in Augusta, winning 5-2 and 2-1 on March 19.
ASU is making its first title game appearance since 2007, while North Georgia will be playing in the PBC Tourney title game for the fourth consecutive season.
