CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Southern softball team returns to Big South play this weekend with a three-game series at Liberty. CSU dropped two of three to the Flames in Lynchburg last season, after winning the opener by a 6-2 final behind a complete game from Morgan Dowdy. First pitch of this year's series is slated for 4 p.m. Friday, with the back end of a doubleheader following. The Bucs and Flames conclude the set Saturday at 1 p.m.

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Recent History Versus Liberty
The Flames have proven to be a formidable foe for the Bucs during Shane Winkler's tenure as head coach, as they hold an 8-2 record against CSU. Two-hit days from Megan Lombard and Erin Kegley helped support a sterling effort from Morgan Dowdy in a 6-2 series-opening win last year, but Liberty bounced back to win the back end of the double dip, 9-1, before taking the finale, 4-1. Here's a game-by-game look at the last three years of the CSU-Liberty series.
• 2011 (Lynchburg, Va.)
• CSU 6, Liberty 2
• Liberty 9, CSU 1
• Liberty 4, CSU 1
• 2010 (Charleston, S.C.)
• Liberty 3, CSU 0
• CSU 5, Liberty 4
• Liberty 5, CSU 1
• 2009 (Lynchburg, Va.)
• Liberty 2, CSU 1
• Liberty 4, CSU 2
• Liberty 4, CSU 2
• Liberty 3, CSU 1 (Radford, Va. - Big South Tournament)

Lombard CSU All-Time Hits Leader
Senior Megan Lombard provided CSU a highlight during Friday's doubleheader loss to Presbyterian. The shortstop slashed a single in each game, moving her career hit total to 208, one better than Jill Shondel (2005-2008) for the highest total in program history. Lombard turned in another excellent week at the plate following her selection as Big South Player of the Week for March 19-25, and punctuated it with her fourth home run of the year. Once again, the Roanoke, Va. native's blast was key as it led off the sixth inning and provided the final 3-2 margin as CSU avoided a sweep at the hands of the Blue Hose and remained above .500 in Big South action.

Giles Delivers Pair of Gems out of bullpen
CSU's offense continued to struggle last week, but the Bucs got a lift and were able to pick up a pair of wins thanks in large part to freshman hurler Jennifer Giles. The 5-5 Jupiter, Fla. product came out of the bullpen to author 3.0 scoreless frames in the 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina on March 28, before turning in 6.1 more shutout innings in the 3-2 victory over Presbyterian on March 31. In each game, Giles continued to thrive by changing speeds while making particularly good use of a solid changeup. The freshman also proved her poise as a first-year player, notching a fly out with the tying and winning runs in scoring position at Coastal, before coming through with a strikeout of Shelby Petik to deny the Blue Hose a comeback with the bases loaded in the final inning Saturday.

100 Wins for Winkler
Not only did CSU's 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina move it back into a tie for 1st place in the Big South, but it also secured win number 100 for Head Coach Shane Winkler. CSU has posted 26, 30, and 25 wins during Winkler's first three seasons at the helm, and is on track to compile only the third 30-win season in program history this year. A victory over Presbyterian in the first game of Friday's doubleheader would give the Bucs a 5-1 start in Big South play, a feat Winkler's team accomplished during his inaugural campaign of 2009, and one that still stands as the best open to conference play in program history. Winkler captured his first career win in his debut as coach on Feb. 6, 2009 against North Carolina Central, as CSU prevailed 10-0 en route to a season-opening three-game sweep.