ASHEVILLE, N.C. - For the second Friday in a row, Charleston Southern (11-20, 3-4) used a ninth inning rally en route to a victory, this time defeating UNC Asheville (14-16, 4-6) 6-1 on their home turf.

Charleston Southern got on the board early when sophomore Alex Tomasovich hit his first career homerun over the left center field wall to give CSU an early 1-0 lead.

Ryan Gunther would put the Bucs on his back for much of the ball game. Gunther held the Bulldogs at bay for 7 2/3 innings. He allowed eight hits while striking out four. His lone run would be an unearned run that would tie the game in the bottom of the eighth.

The bottom of the eight would prove to be a very unusual baseball inning. With one out, Asheville leadoff man Thomas Bess singled up the middle. He then took off for second but a great throw from Buc catcher Drew Woodall had him out at second until it was dropped by Tomasovich when he applied the tag. Bess would move to third on a ground out for the second out, but Bess seemed to have different thoughts. He appeared to be walking off the field as if it was the third out, when CSU first baseman Harrison Wilkins spotted him and took off after him. A throw to third had Buccaneer third baseman John Faircloth chasing him to the plate in a rundown before throwing home to Woodall in attempt to get the out. Bess would collide with Woodall, however, who dropped the ball during the collision, allowing Bess to score and tie the game at one.

Charleston Southern would use that as energy though as they put up quite a fight offensively in the ninth inning. Woodall would start the inning with a single just inside the third base bag and then have Ben Qualkinbush come on to pinch run for him. Wilkins followed with a perfectly placed bunt past the pitcher for a base hit. Another bunt from leadoff man Bobby Ison would be bobbled by Bulldog starter Dean Roland (4-3) to load the bases. Junior Jaren Sustar would come thru in the clutch for the Bucs as he promptly laced a single to centerfield that would score Qualkinbush, however Wilkins was gunned down at the plate on the play trying to score. Sustar and Ison both moved up 90 feet on the throw to give the Bucs second and third with just one out.

Trailing 2-1, the Bulldogs would go to the bullpen and call on Ethan Steible. Faircloth greeted Steible as he lined a shot past the diving first baseman for a double that would plate Sustar and Ison and give the Bucs a 4-1 lead. Faircloth would cross home plate for CSU's fifth and final run when designated hitter Walt Quattlebaum doubled down the left field line.

Zach Hagaman (3-2) picked up the win for the Bucs in relief. He came on to get the final out in the eighth inning for the Bucs.

Corey Deighan worked a perfect ninth inning in a non-save situation for Charleston Southern.

The Buccaneers collected eight hits on the afternoon, paced by Faircloth's 2-for-4 performance in which he had two RBI and scored a run.

The two teams will complete the series tomorrow, due to the Easter holiday, with a doubleheader that is set for 11:30 a.m.