CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Southern softball team opened the Big South Conference schedule with a 2-1 setback at the hands of visiting Presbyterian College Friday, April 1. CSU then defeated PC, 7-2, in game two, benefitting from 15 walks issued by Blue Hose pitching while Kimberly Hobbs threw a career-high 11 strikeouts.

CSU's record stands at 14-20, 1-1 in conference games, as a result of Friday's action. Presbyterian College, the early leader in the Big South, is now 17-7-1, 4-2 in Big South play.

Pitching and defense ruled the day in game one, as the two teams combined for three runs and seven hits during a 2-1 PC victory. PC took a 2-0 lead after one inning, and Leslie Hensley shut the door from then on. Hensley (11-3) allowed just one run on two hits, all coming in the fifth inning. CSU's Morgan Dowdy (5-13) pitched a solid game, allowing two runs, one earned on five hits, striking out six in seven innings.

Jana Matthews and Hayes Holdsworth each went 1-for-3 for CSU in game one. Matthews hit a double to lead off the fifth, and Holdsworth drove her in with her first career triple.

Codee Yeskee led PC with a 2-for-3 outing in the first game, driving in what proved to be the winning run in the first inning.

A pair of PC batters reached via walks in the first inning, and Tera Powell scored from third on a ground ball. An errant throw allowed Powell to score PC's first run. Yeske drove in Morgan Durham with a one-out single, good for a 2-0 advantage. Dowdy struck out the remaining two hitters to end the inning.

Both pitchers settled in from that point on, as the next hit did not occur until PC's Rachel Hopper doubled with one out in the top of the fourth.

CSU broke through with one run in the bottom of the fifth, and threatened for more. Matthews led off the fifth with a double. Holdsworth then lined a triple to right center field to plate Matthews. Trea Steele then walked, putting runners on first and third. Pinch runner Lizzy Olmstead was thrown out at second. A walk to Sbardella was followed by a groundout and a flyout, leaving Holdsworth at third and CSU with a 2-1 deficit.

Presbyterian recorded two hits in the top of the sixth. However, the rally was derailed when Holdsworth made a catch in right field and then threw out Yeske at the plate to end the frame.

The Buccaneers were unable to complete the comeback, as Hensley retired the last eight CSU batters in order, giving PC the 2-1 win.

Game One Box Score

CSU then bounced back with a 7-2 victory in game two, evening its conference record in the process. Presbyterian pitching combined to yield 15 walks, including 14 by starting pitcher Brittany Howell. Hobbs went the distance and struck out a career-high 11 batters. A three-run homer by Megan Lombard in the third gave CSU a 6-1 lead.

Hobbs (9-7) pitched her sixth complete game of the season, and her 11 strikeouts Friday were the most by a CSU pitcher since Amanda Noble fanned 12 Hampton batters Feb. 25, 2007. Hobbs allowed two runs on six hits Friday, and walked no one.

Howell drew the loss, falling to 6-4 on the season. She had walked 14 batters in 60 inning pitched coming into play, and allowed 14 free passes in just two innings, yielding six earned runs on only three hits. Centerfielder Tera Powell pitched the final three innings scoreless.

Lombard went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, two walks and four RBI in game two. Kristin Kelleher walked three times, while Matthews, Sbardella and Ari Tedesco each recorded a hit for CSU. Tedesco and Steele scored two runs apiece.

Hensley and Powell both pitched in game two, and both also went 2-for-3 at the plate, with Hensley hitting a double.

PC took a quick 1-0 lead in game two, as Powell scored on a wild pitch. Hensley then doubled, but was left on when Yeske struck out.

Howell walked the bases loaded with nobody out in the first. Hensley then moved from first base to pitcher and subsequently retired the side.

Following a 1-2-3 PC second, in which Hobbs recorded two strikeouts, CSU claimed the lead with three runs on no hits in the bottom of the second. Howell re-entered the circle and issued six walks. All three runs were driven in by bases on balls.

The Bucs tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the third, as Sbardella led off with a double. Tedesco hit a one-out single, and then Lombard smashed a towering home run to left for a 6-1 CSU advantage.

PC responded with one run in the top of the fourth inning, as Hopper popped out to the first baseman with runners on first and third. While Lindsey Trombley scampered back to first, Yeske snuck across the vacant home plate for PC's second run. Hobbs struck out Mary Ellen Morris and got Kristen Handy to pop out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, CSU's first two batters walked. Howell was then replaced in the circle by Powell, who yielded an RBI single to Megan Lombard, making it 7-2 in CSU's favor.

Neither team scored from that point on. PC exhibited strong fielding behind Powell and Hobbs stuck out five batters over the last three innings, including a swing-and-a-miss to end the ballgame.

Game Two Box Score

Postgame Interview

The Buccaneers and Blue Hose complete their three-game series Saturday, April 2, as the teams take the field for a 2 p.m. ballgame.