CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern was unable to overcome the strong bats of College of Charleston and fell to the Cougars, 6-1, on Wednesday afternoon at CSU Softball Field.

Jade Gadara led the Buccaneers (20-28) at the plate with an RBI double, while Stevi Johnson went a perfect two-for-two in her at-bats. Stephanie Bergmann and Caitlyn Emberson also recorded a hit in the CSU defeat and Holly Clark (6-7) paced the Bucs in the circle with four strikeouts in the complete game effort.

College of Charleston (21-17) got on the board in the third inning. A CSU fielding error with two outs allowed Taylor Dupree to get on base, and a single from Jordin Jones brought in the run.

The Bucs responded in the bottom of the frame with a leadoff single from Bergmann.  Amanda Matsumoto reached on a fielder's choice and scored after Jade Gandara connected on a double to left center to tie the score at 1-1 after three innings.

The Cougars pulled ahead with a solo home run off the bat of Lexee Emanuel in the next inning, and Izzy Berouty (4-4) set the Bucs down in order in both the fourth and fifth frames.  CofC added another run in the top of the sixth as Emanuel and Katie Padilla connected on back-to-back doubles for the 3-1 lead.

CSU threatened a comeback in the bottom of the sixth as Johnson led off with a single and Cheyenne Gandara reached on a walk.  Berouty retired the Bucs' number five and number six hitters to end the inning with the tying run left on first.

CofC sparked a two-out rally in the last frame with a hit up the middle from Kelly Sinclair, followed by a Jones double for the RBI.  Taylor Belfiore cleared the bases with a home run to left center for the 6-1 Cougar advantage after six and a half innings.

A walk put one runner on base for the Bucs in the bottom of the frame, but a popped up foul ball was caught and converted into a double play to seal the 6-1 CofC victory.

The Buccaneers now turn their attention to Friday as they host Winthrop for their last home series of the 2017 season.  CSU will face off with the Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Friday and will host a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:00 p.m.  All games will be aired on the Big South Network and CSU's seniors will be honored ahead of Saturday's first pitch.