Jaguars fall to Queens, beat Catawba in day-two action

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In day two of the Mid-South Classic, the Augusta Jaguars fell to Queens 5-2 before handing the Catawba Indians their second loss of the season in a 2-1 non-conference victory for the Jags at Tyger River Stadium.

Augusta (7-13) split the opening day of the non-conference tournament when they met Saint Joseph's College (Ind.) and Southern Indiana in day one action on Friday night.

In the first game on Saturday, Queens led 5-0 with a run in the second and third and three in the fourth.

Sophomore Carolyn Edwards dropped a two-run homer for Augusta over center field to chip away at the Queens' lead, but the Royals outlasted Augusta for a 5-2 final.

Freshman Emily Hittinger (1-2) gave up seven hits for five runs in 3.1 innings to get the loss. Senior Haley Birkle struck out five in 1.2 innings of relief and Paige Deschaine logged an inning as well.

Sophomore Lindsey Stokes went 2-2 against Queens, while Edwards was 1-3 with the long ball.

The Catawba Indians entered the game 11-1 overall and the Jags outlasted the Indians for a one-run victory in game two on the day. The Jags avenged an early-season loss to Catawba on Feb. 20, 2016 when the Jags fell 2-0 in Salisbury, N.C.

It was a scoreless affair until the fifth inning. Senior Kristen Bagley reached on a walk and junior Brianna Dickens brought her home with an RBI knock. An inning later in the sixth, Stokes stroked another hit to plate junior Ashley Benton for 2-0 lead.

An RBI single in the seventh inning threatened the Jaguar lead, but senior Paige Deschaine (3-5) struck out her 10th batter to end the game. In Deschaine's start she went the full 7.0 innings and only allowed two hits for one run.

Augusta wraps up the Mid-South Classic on Saturday, Feb. 27 when they meet Lincoln Memorial at 10:00 a.m. and Wingate at 2:00 p.m.

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