Mount St. Mary's Box Score | Loyola Box Score

CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina softball team notched another five-inning victory, rolling by Mount St. Mary's 11-3, but suffered another close defeat, falling to Loyola Chicago 4-2 in eight innings during Friday's first day of the Coastal Carolina Invitational.

The Chanticleers, who are now 8-7 on the season, banged out four home runs in a 10-run fourth inning during their victory. Annie Robinson hit a grand slam, Morgan Noad added a three-run shot and Amanda Daneker and Kelsey Dominik went back-to-back to cap it off. Robinson and Kory Hayden had two of Coastal's seven hits.

Kelsey Dominik (5-2) pitched four shutout innings before giving up a three-run home run in fifth. She allowed four hits in the game, struck four and walked two.

The Chants took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Robinson led off with a single. Maicie Hahn then reached on an error following her sacrifice bunt and eventually came home on a wild pitch.

Then came the fourth in which Coastal sent 13 batters to the plate and hit for the cycle of home runs. Hayden led it off with a single, Daneker reached on an error and Dominik walked to load the bases. Two batters later, Robinson hit a rocket off the palm tree behind the fence in left for her first career grand slam and third homer of the season. Hahn and Kailey Mellen drew walks before Noad homered to right for her fourth of the year. Hayden came up again and walked ahead of Daneker's two-run shot to left and Dominik immediately put another out of the stadium in left.

Coastal fought back from a two-run deficit against Loyola, tying the game in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Hayden. However, with the international tiebreaker in effect, Loyola got a pair of hits to score twice in the top of the eighth.

Mackenzie Conrad made her first start of the season in place of Kiana Quolas, who was shaken up during the Mount St. Mary's game. Conrad went the distance and kept the Chants in the game, allowing two earned runs on seven hits, while strikeout five and walking none.

Trailing 2-0 in the fourth, the Chants got a run back as Mellen hit a leadoff double to left-center, moved to third on a sacrifice by Sara Rasley and scored on an RBI groundout by Devon Steiner for the freshman's first career RBI.

Another leadoff double, this time by Daneker, set up the tying run in the seventh. Pinchrunner Kasey Oliver moved to third on a sacrifice by Morgan Noad and Hayden followed with a one-out single to left. Hayden had another two-hit game, going 4 for 6 on the day, while Hahn also had two hits.

Coastal continues play in the tournament on Saturday, taking on Saint Joseph's at 3 p.m. and Mount St. Mary's at 5:30 p.m.