COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Columbus State got a solid pitching performance from Danny Davidson and 11 hits in Sunday's first game of a doubleheader to defeat Augusta State 7-2, but could not complete the sweep in the nightcap as the Jaguars took a 9-5 win to salvage a split.

Columbus State won two-of-three in its first Peach Belt Conference series and improved to 11-5 overall, while Augusta State evened its overall record at 8-8 and moved 1-2 in league play.

Davidson cruised through the first six innings in the opener on Sunday, allowing just two hits along the way. He surrendered a two run homer to Shannon Wilkerson in the seventh and pitched out of another jam in the eighth, finishing with just seven hits allowed, 10 strikeouts, and one walk. Jordan Freeman pitched a perfect ninth to finish up for the Cougars.

CSU plated four runs in the fourth inning for all the offense it would need. Casey Cook singled and Jonnie Geiger was hit by a pitch with no one out. Aaron Beasley then dropped down a nice sacrifice bunt and the Cougars ended up with runners at second third after an errant throw to first. Cook scored on the play with the game's first run. Brian Gordon plated Geiger with a groundout to make it 2-0, and Rodney Rutherford legged out an infield single to score Beasley for a 3-0 lead. After a Thomas Morrison hit on which Rutherford was thrown out at third, Tyler Baughman delivered an RBI double to make it 4-0.

The Cougars added another run in the fourth, taking advantage of another fielding miscue. Beasley reached on an error, allowing Cam Fulcher to score for a 5-0 lead. Fulcher had led off the frame with a single. The Cougars also added single runs in the fifth and sixth, getting a Thomas Morrison solo homer in the fifth and an RBI groundout by Gordon in the sixth.

Morrison and Baughman led the CSU offense with three hits each, while Cook added a pair of hits. Wilkerson had two hits for the Jags.

ASU scored three runs in the first inning of the nightcap and added three more in the third to go up 7-2. CSU got a pair of runs in the bottom of the first on a Beasley two-run blast to left-center, but the Jags took advantage of two hits and a pair of CSU errors to plate their three third-inning runs. Two runs scored on throwing errors and the third came home on a balk. Wilkerson doubled home a run in the first, as did Jeremy Armstrong. David Barnes plated the other run on a groundout. ASU added a single run in the second on a Michael Fritz single to score Evan Smith.

After CSU cut the margin to 7-5 with a single run in the fourth and Rodney Rutherford's two-run homer in the seventh, ASU got some insurance in the eighth when Kevin Owens blasted a two-run shot to deep center field to make it 9-5. Submariner Kyle Payne came on in the eighth and pitched a pair of perfect innings to finish up, making a winner out of reliever Chris Tyler (1-1).

Anthony Arrington took the loss for CSU, allowing six hits and four earned runs in one inning of work. Rutherford had three of CSU's eight hits and Gordon had two more.

The Jags continue their road swing on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 26 and 27, when they face Coker and Belmont Abbey at 2:00 p.m. on both days.

Columbus State d. Augusta State 7-2 (BOX SCORE)
Augusta State d. Columbus State 9-5 (BOX SCORE)