Box Score

CHARLESTON - The Coastal Carolina softball team fought back from a four-run deficit to tie the game, but Charleston Southern came away with an 8-5 victory Wednesday afternoon in the series finale between the teams.

Buccaneers' slugger Marci Christian hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to break the 5-5 deadlock. It was her 23rd longball of the season after hitting a grand slam earlier in the game.

Morgan Noad hit her 19th homer of the year, taking over the second spot in program history for a single season and moving within one of tying Meagan Johnson's record. The Chanticleers (29-21, 14-6) rallied for four runs in the top of the sixth on back-to-back two-run hits by Sara Rasley and Annie Robinson.

Kory Hayden had one hit to extend her streak of reaching base to 29 games, while Amanda Daneker added two hits.

Kelsey Dominik retired six of the first seven Charleston Southern batters before running into trouble in the bottom of the third. Bunt singles around a bloop hit to left by the number nine batter loaded the bases with no outs for Christian, who entered the week ranked fourth in the nation in home runs. She lofted a sky high flyball down the line in left that carried just out of the reach of Kiana Quolas for the grand slam.

Noad got the Chants on the board with her home run, a blast to right with two-outs in the fourth, before the Buccaneers made it 5-1 on a single by Christian, a double and a wild pitch.

Once again kept off balance at the plate by CSU starter Jennifer Giles, the Chants had just three hits before totaling five during the sixth inning. Quolas started with a single past the diving shortstop, Hayden sat on a Giles' change-up and poked a single to left and Daneker followed two batters later with another single to center to load the bases. Rasley and Robinson then both waited on change-ups for their big hits, Rasley doubling down the left-field line and Robinson singling to left to even the score.

However, the bottom of the CSU lineup again set the table for Christian in the bottom of the inning. Mackenzie Conrad came on in the circle for Dominik and got the first out of the inning, but number eight batter Brook Richardson reached on a looping infield single to the shortstop and Natalie Yonan walked on four pitches. Conrad got leadoff hitter Amanda Matsumoto out on a liner to Hayden, but Christian hit a 3-2 pitch over the fence in left-center for the game-winner.

Giles finished the game off in the seventh to notch her 13th win of the season, allowing eight hits and striking out three. Dominik allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out one. Conrad suffered the loss.

The Chanticleers return home and wrap up their Big South Conference schedule with a series against Presbyterian this weekend. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 3 p.m., with the opener to air on the American Sports Network. Coastal will then honor its six seniors prior to Sunday's 1 p.m. finale.

Also on Wednesday, the Big South announced that Quolas was named the conference's Pitcher of the Week for games played April 13-19. Quolas notched complete-game victories in both of her starts during the week against College of Charleston and Liberty, posting a 1.17 ERA. She had her fourth career one-hitter against CofC and then allowed just two earned runs over seven innings against Liberty. It is her second consecutive weekly honor, the third of the season and the 17th of her career.