CHARLESTON - The Charleston Southern softball team hosted USC Upstate in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon taking game one 5-4 before falling 13-5 in game two.

GAME ONE
Blakley Kingsmore leads things off in the first inning with a single up the middle. Jordyn Dimond reached on a fielder's choice, resulting in the out of Kingsmore, but the Bucs were unable to convert.

Harper Schoeneweis drew a walk to start the second before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt. Charlee Yourman reached on a fielder's choice, but she was left on.

In the third, Cadence Walding singled to center field and Linley Jones entered as a pinch runner. Kingsmore reached on a fielder's choice resulting in the out of Jones.

USC Upstate struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth.

The Bucs answered in the bottom half of the inning. Maddie Lee led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Lorenzza Marcacci followed with a two-run home run to left field to give Charleston Southern the lead. Yourman drew a walk and Olivia Chuck entered as a pinch runner. Emma Smith and Linley Jones recorded back-to-back singles, with Jones driving in Chuck. Carsten Sandvig drew a walk to load the bases, and Dimond singled to bring in another run as the Bucs took a 4-1 advantage.

The Spartans responded with two runs in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit 4-3.

Marcacci drew a walk to start the bottom of the fifth, and Smith added a single, but both runners were left on base.

USC Upstate tied it in the top of the seventh.

In the bottom of the seventh, Lee led off with a single before Marcacci reached on a fielding error. Yourman reached on a fielder's choice resulting in the out of Lee. Smith then delivered a walk-off single, scoring Marcacci and securing a 5-4 victory for the Bucs.

Riley Lauffer went the distance in the circle, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out two.

GAME TWO
The Spartans got on the board first, leaving the top of the first with a 1-0 advantage.

Dimond led off the bottom half with a single, and Schoeneweis followed with a walk. Marcacci singled to right field to score Dimond and tie the game at 1-1.

The Spartans broke the game open in the second, scoring seven runs to take an 8-1 lead.

Charleston Southern responded in the bottom of the inning. Yourman reached on a fielding error and Smith followed with a single. Chuck entered as a pinch runner and scored on a single up the middle by Walding. Emma Villaescusa reached on a fielder's choice, and Dimond tripled to right field to drive in two runs. Lee added an RBI single to cut the deficit to 8-5.

Marcacci drew a walk to start the third and Yourman reached on a fielder's choice, resulting in the out of Marcacci, but the Bucs were unable to convert.

In the bottom of the fourth, Kingsmore singled to left field but was later thrown out.

USC Upstate added three runs in the fifth to extend its lead to 11-5 and tacked on two more in the seventh to make it 13-5.

Dimond singled to start the bottom of the seventh, but was left on.

Brenna Conley got the start, allowing six runs on seven hits in 1.1 innings. Kinsey Clopton tossed three innings, giving up five runs on four hits with one strikeout. Mackenzie North closed out the game, allowing two runs on three hits over 2.2 innings.

SUPPORT THE BUCCANEERS
Fans can support Charleston Southern Athletics through the Buc Club.