ASHEVILLE – Charleston Southern baseball took the series opener against UNC Asheville on Saturday by a final score of 17-7 on Friday afternoon. The Buccaneers used a seven-run inning in the fourth inning to grab the lead and never looked back as they tied their most runs scored in a single game this season. Parks Ledwell got the start on the mound and turned in one of the best outings by a starter this season.
 
The Bulldogs scored the first run in their half of the first inning to get an early 1-0 lead. After that, it was all Buccaneers as their bats exploded in the fourth inning to flip the game on its head.
 
Charleston Southern put up seven runs in the top of the fourth to get ahead 7-1 in the inning. The first five batters of the inning reached with Brock Kuehler being hit by a pitch when the bases were loaded to open the floodgates. Cade Conway then sent a double to right center to bring home a pair of runners. BJ Banyon, Dakota Miller and John Emendorfer each picked up RBIs during the rest of the inning.
 
With two outs in the fifth, the Buccaneers put up another pair of runs with Chandler Tuupo and Peter Werth driving a runner home each. In the Bulldogs' half of the inning, they got a pair of runs back.
 
In the sixth, the Buccaneers had another huge inning, scoring six runs during it. Conway drew a walk when the bases were loaded to score the first of the inning. Banyon then had a two-RBI hit up the middle which was followed by a Miller groundout that scored a runner. Chandler Tuupo then hit a two-run homer to right field for the final runs of the inning.
 
The Bucs got their final runs of the day in the 9^th inning with Christian Bauman and Miller each providing the hits that scored runners and brought the team's total to 17 on the day.
 
Ledwell went 7.0 innings as he got his second start of the year and moved to 2-0 on the year. He got Bulldog batters to hit into a pair of key double plays for the Bucs. He finished with five strikeouts to go with seven hits, four walks and four earned runs. Tyler Henshaw came on for the final two innings of the game, coming on in relief during the 8^th. He allowed a run to go with two hits while collecting three strikeouts.
 
Tuupo led the team in hits with four going 4-5 at the plate. Banyon and Miller each put up three hits in the contest while Emendorfer and Kuehler added two apiece. Conway, Banyon, Werth, and Alex Urlaub all finished with one hit. Every batter that had a hit, excluding Urlaub, also had at least one RBI. Each of the batters in the top four of the order finished the game with three RBIs.
 
Charleston Southern returns to the diamond tomorrow to continue the weekend series against the Bulldogs. The first pitch for Saturday is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at Greenwood Baseball Field with the action live on ESPN+. There is a chance that the time of the game is forced to change due to potential inclement weather in the area.