#21 Cougars come-from-behind to beat Bucs, 8-5

Brandon Roberts

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern and College of Charleston wrapped up their four-game season series on Wednesday at Buccaneer Field. The 21^st-ranked Cougars overcame a 5-1 deficit and defeated the Buccaneers, 8-5. College of Charleston wins the season series, 3-1.

College of Charleston improves to 36-11 overall while the Buccaneers fall to 17-35. Charleston Southern travels to Birmingham Southern this weekend for their final three-game conference series of the season.

CSU’s fourth pitcher of the day, Payton Tweddale, took the loss, falling to 0-4 on the season. Tweddale allowed seven hits and five runs in 2 1/3 innings. Freshman Brandon Roberts, making his first career start, went five innings, allowing two runs on six hits.

CSU catcher John Mark Cleaveland and second baseman Sean Doberty had three hits on the day, while Wes Brundridge, Justin Fyle, and Lionel Greene had two hits each. CSU finished with 16 hits while the Cougars had 15 safeties.

College of Charleston struck for a run in the top of the first on Larry Cobb’s third homerun of the season but the Buccaneers answered with Sean Doherty’s first homer of the season in the second.

Designated hitter David Perkins gave CSU a 2-1 lead with an RBI single in the third and the Buccaneers put three runs up in the fourth. Cleaveland delivered a run with a double to left and shortstop Adam Brown lifted a sacrifice fly to left for a 4-1 CSU lead. Fyle made it 5-1 with an infield single up the middle, his 46^th RBI of the season.

The Cougars scored a run in the top of the fifth with Oliver Marmol driving in Phillip Coker with a two-out single to center. In the sixth, the Cougars loaded the bases and CSU’s Ryan Rowland walked in a run, cutting the lead to 5-3. Tweddale relieved Rowland and struck out Joey Friddle and got Phillip Coker to fly to left to end the threat.

Cobb struck again in the top of the seventh, belting his second homerun of the game to left center and cutting the lead to 5-4. Charleston Southern loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh but Cougar reliever Quinn Monsma got Cleaveland and Brown to ground out.

Cougar catcher Alex Garabedian led off the eighth with a single up the middle and designated hitter Matt Kirkpatrick followed with a bloop single to right. Joey Friddle then beat out a bunt for a single to load the bases with no outs.

Phillip Coker lined to left center to score Garabedian and Kirkpatrick, giving College of Charleston a 6-5 lead. Chris Campbell followed with a two-out single to right, scoring two and pushing the score to 8-5.

CSU left the bases loaded in the eighth and had two runners on with one out in the ninth, failing to score as Cougar closer Josh McLaughlin recorded his 13^th save of the season.