CLINTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern's pitching staff struggled mightily on Friday afternoon as the Buccaneers fell, 14-7, to Presbyterian College in the first battle of a three-game Big South Conference series. The Blue Hose pounded out a season-high 21 hits against five different CSU pitchers.

The Buccaneers (15-22, 4-8 Big South Conference) trailed by just four runs, 7-3, heading into the bottom of the 7th inning, but the home side put the game away with five markers in the frame. Tony Micklon homered and drove in three runs to pace the Blue Hose, who scored in six of the eight innings in which they came to bat.

Charleston Southern tried to mount a comeback with four runs in the 8th inning but by that point it was too little, too late. The Buccaneers have now lost four games in a row, with three coming in Big South play.

CSU had little trouble getting runners on base, as they belted 15 hits of their own, but they left nine men on the base paths and were caught stealing twice. Brandon McKinney came on as a substitute for the Bucs and had his best day of the season, going 3-for-3 with a run, while Nick Chinners hit his fifth home run of the season.

Anthony Markham (0-4) gave up five runs on 10 hits in just four innings of work and took the CSU loss, while Jesse Harmon (2-5) picked up the win after allowing three runs in seven innings. He struck out six on the day.

Things started well enough for CSU, as Tom Burkett's speed on the base paths led to Charleston Southern's first run of the game. The junior led off the 2nd inning with a walk and advanced into scoring position by stealing second base. Two batters later, he came around on Walt Quattlebaum's sacrifice fly, putting the Bucs ahead by a run.

The bottom third of the order produced CSU's next score. Later in the 2nd frame, Bentley Christmas and Jaren Sustar notched back-to-back singles, and Jesse Cadenhead followed with a run-scoring his own single, his first of the year, to double the lead.

Presbyterian (10-23, 2-8 BSC) wasted little time getting back into the game. Aaron Preston led off the bottom of the 2nd inning with a hard single off of Markham, and after a stolen base of his own he scored on an Alex Loftin single that cut the CSU advantage in half.

The Blue Hose took the lead in the 3rd, as Micklon launched a two-run homer off of Markham that made the score 3-2. PC tacked on a pair of runs in the 4th inning when Micklon and Kenny Bryant chased runs home on an RBI singles.

Charleston Southern mounted their first rally in the 5th inning. After Cadenhead and Brantley Meier started the frame with a pair of hits, Jon Matthews added a run with an RBI groundout. But the Bucs could not add to their tally, as Harmon retired Burkett and Chinners to keep the score 5-3.

Self-inflicted wounds hurt the Buccaneers in Presbyterian's half of the 5th, with Corey Deighan on the mound. With two out, Loftin scored an a throwing error during a stolen base attempt, and Mack Hite added a run-scoring hit to stretch the lead to 7-3.

Presbyterian blew the game wide open with their five-run 7th inning. The big hit in the inning was a two-RBI single from Gabe Grammer.

Charleston Southern's 8th inning charge was highlighted by Chinners' homer and a two-run double from Drew Woodall. Matt Still also had an RBI double in the frame.

The Bucs look to regroup and get back on the winning track tomorrow in game two of the weekend series. Ace Tyler Thornburg (5-1, 3.21 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Buccaneers. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.