CHARLESTON, S.C. - Jessica Brock and Stephanie Sbardella had two RBI apiece and the Charleston Southern pitching staff combined to hurl a shutout as the Buccaneers topped Rider in the series opener on Tuesday afternoon at the CSU Softball Field, 7-0.

Charleston Southern snapped a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the fourth inning as Stephanie Bergmann connected on an RBI double and Stephanie Sbardella reached on a bases-loaded walk, while the Buccaneers batted around in the bottom of the fifth inning to push across the final margin.

The Buccaneers improve to 14-16-1 overall with the victory over Rider, while the Broncs fall to 2-7 with the loss.

Morgan Dowdy (2-4) picked up the win for Charleston Southern on the mound, throwing two innings of shutout, one-hit relief on the mound and added a double at the plate in the winning effort. Lauren Darden put together a shutout inning to open the contest and Jennifer Giles also pitched two innings of scoreless relief before Cheyenne Gandara ended the game inside the circle, retiring four on strikes to end the game.

Delany DeMello (0-3) suffered the loss for the Broncs on the mound, throwing five innings and allowing two runs, while scattering four hits. Montana Berg pitched one inning in relief for Rider, allowing three hits and five runs.

The Buccaneers offense sparked in the bottom of the fourth as Brandy Galaviz reached on a one-out walk. Bergmann followed with a slicing double to left field, eluding the diving play by Irving and allowing Galaviz to score from first for the opening run of the game. The Buccaneers loaded the bases with two outs later in the inning before Sbardella drew a bases-loaded, full-count walk to bring in Lizzy Olmstead and give CSU the 2-0 advantage.

Charleston Southern added five runs in the fifth as Dowdy opened the inning with a double to the centerfield fence to back up her own pitching effort. A walk issued to Stevi Johnson put two on with none out in the inning and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Lexie Venada drove in the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, while Jessica Brock connected on a two-run double and Sbardella and Natalie Yonan both had RBI to put CSU ahead 7-0.

Gandara entered the game in the sixth and shut down the Broncs lineup the rest of the way, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning to close out and end the game.

Charleston Southern and Rider are back in action tomorrow afternoon at the CSU Softball Field as the Buccaneers and Broncs face off in a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.