AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Jaguars came from behind in game one at USC Aiken to win a one-run game before they routed the Pacers 8-0 in game two Friday afternoon to sweep the Peach Belt Conference doubleheader at J. H. Satcher Field.
The Jaguars (18-4, 5-1 PBC) trailed first in game one when right-handed junior Paige Deschaine gave up back-to-back homeruns in the second inning. USC Aiken (12-4, 4-2 PBC) held the lead into fourth inning until GRU scored one in the top of the fourth on Mallory Ferguson's suicide-squeeze bunt to plate Molly Walton for their first run.
In the fifth, the Jags tacked on another tie to the game when leadoff hitter Hannah Wilson singled to center field to score Kristen Bagley. In their last at bat, GRU found life when Ashley Benton and Wilson knocked singles and advanced on some fielding issues for USCA. Walton slapped a single to the right side that allowed Benton to score from third for the go-ahead run.
Deschaine (10-1) recorded 16 strikeouts in the game for GRU, matching her career-high mark she last reached on April 6, 2014 at home against Georgia Southwestern. Deschaine struck out three Pacers in the bottom of the seventh to seal a 3-2 comeback victory for GRU.
Wilson and Walton each went 2-4 with an RBI, while Deschaine notched her 10th win on the mound in her 11th complete-game performance.
Early in game two was the all Jaguars. Brooke Stephens singled through the right side to score Walton and Caitlyn Glenn plated Stephens on an opposite-field grounder for a 2-0 lead in the first. Stephens stayed locked in at the plate in the third inning and belted her sixth long ball of the year to build the lead to 4-0.
The Jags totaled five hits for an eventual eight runs and took game two to sweep the doubleheader with an 8-0 win in five innings. Stephens homered again in the fifth and Walton did the same in the fourth to carry the Jags.
On the mound for GRU, lefty Haley Birkle (8-3) struck out six in her 5.0 innings of work and only allowed two hits.
The Jaguars play a non-conference doubleheader at Lenoir-Rhyne on Sunday, March 22 for a 1:30 p.m. start in Hickory, N.C.
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