AUGUSTA, Ga.  – Surviving a one-run pitcher's duel in game one, the Jaguars held off Francis Marion 2-1 in game two to sweep the Peach Belt Conference doubleheader on Thursday afternoon at Jaguar Field.

The Jaguars moved to 23-9 overall and 9-5 in the league with the pair of league wins.

With one out, a single and two walks loaded the bases for FMU (19-17, 5-9 PBC) in the first inning of game one. After missing a few starts due to a minor back injury, Jaguar righty-pitcher Paige Deschaine locked down and dealt two strikeouts to escape the inning with no harm.

The GRU offense started from senior Molly Walton. Walton broke open FMU pitcher Katie Carnes' (7-2) no hitter in the fourth with a leadoff single to center. A hit by pitch put and sacrifice bunt put runners to second and third, but Carnes kept the game scoreless with a groundball for the third out.

It was a scoreless game going into the last inning. FMU sent a runner home from second base on a single up the middle, but Walton came up firing from center field to catch the runner, with GRU catcher Mallory Ferguson applying the tag on the one-hop throw at home.

Hannah Vaughn hit a leadoff single to start the Jags' last scheduled at bat. In the next at bat, Auburn Balcorta laid down a pinch-hit, base-hit bunt and Kristen Bagley reached on a fielder's choice. Casey Rowland slapped a high-chopper groundball that Vaughn scored on, after the catcher dropped the throw at home.

The Jags won 1-0 and Deschaine (11-1) pitched 7.0 innings, while striking out 10 in her return to the mound. Deschaine has the fourth-best earned run average and the fourth-most strikeouts in the league.

FMU knocked two hits to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two, but GRU got even when Hannah Wilson doubled and Ferguson drove her in with an opposite-field single to tie the game.

Taking a tie game into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Jags got a leadoff single from Vaughn to set up their second walk-off win of the day. Balcorta came in for another pinch-hit opportunity and placed her second bunt of the game to sacrifice Vaughn to second. The second baseman tried to catch Vaughn at second and overthrew the ball into the left-field corner, allowing Vaughn to score for a 2-1 win.

GRU junior-lefty Haley Birkle (11-7) made the game two start on the mound and struck out four in 8.0 innings. Ferguson went 3-4 with an RBI and Wilson, Vaughn, and Stephens each had a hit.

The Jags play a non-conference doubleheader at West Georgia on Tuesday, April 7 for a 3:00 p.m. start in Carrolton, Ga.

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