LYNCHBURG, VA. - Jessica Brock hammered her first home run of the season to pace a 10-hit attack for Charleston Southern, but it was not enough as Liberty came from behind to win a slugfest, 9-8, at Liberty Softball Field on Saturday afternoon.

CSU (22-18, 7-4) entered the bottom of the seventh clinging to an 8-7 lead, but Liberty (11-23, 5-7) scratched out a run to force extra innings and then prevailed in the eighth on a RBI single by Jenny Law.

Chandler Ball (5-7) gutted through all eight wins to earn the win for the Flames, yielding the eight runs (six earned) on ten hits and six walks, while notching six strikeouts. Jennifer Giles (6-8) took the loss in relief for the Bucs after allowing a run on two hits and two walks in 0.2 of an inning.

The Bucs once again produced first inning damage by laying claim to a 2-0 lead against Ball. Jana Matthews brought home the first tally with a sacrifice fly, before Brock trotted home from third on a wild pitch.

Liberty manufactured a run of its own in the bottom of the first, but the CSU bats went right back to work in the second to forge a 5-1 advantage. The Bucs pieced five base hits together to induce the harm, with the key base knocks coming in the form of a Megan Lombard RBI single, and a two-out RBI single to center field by Stephanie Sbardella.

The Flames benefited from the powerful swing of Meredith Crisante to pull within 5-3 against CSU starter Morgan Dowdy in the bottom of the fourth. Crisante cracked a two-run bomb to left-center field to bring in Law, who had drawn a leadoff walk.

CSU posted another multiple run inning to assume a 7-3 cushion in the top of the sixth. Kristin Kelleher worked a one-out walk in front of Brock, who drove a Ball offering deep over the left-center field fence for her first round-tripper of the campaign.

Liberty then rallied for four markers of its own in the bottom of the sixth to tie the score at 7 apiece. The long ball once again got the job done for the Flames, as Kelly Strickland pumped a grand slam clear of the right-center field wall with two outs.

The see-saw nature of the late innings continued in the seventh, as CSU proved its mettle by re-taking the lead at 8-7. Sbardella was hit by a pitch to start the frame, and then scooted up to third after back-to-back bunt singles by Hannah Wagner and Trea Steele loaded the bases with nobody out. Ball struck out Melanie Stickney and induced a line out from Melissa Adams, but could not escape the jam unscathed as Kelleher once again exhibited her patient approach to draw an RBI walk.

Ball was able to limit the damage to one run, however, allowing the Liberty offense to get back on track and avoid a sweep. Crisante scored the tying run this time, racing home from first to touch the plate on Hannah Nichols' RBI double down the right field line. Dowdy limited the rally there to force extra innings, but did not come out for the eighth as Giles was inserted out of the bullpen. Dowdy permitted eight runs on eight hits and three walks over 7.0 innings, while striking out two.

Sammi Shivock greeted Giles rudely after her entry, doubling down the right field line to lead off the decisive inning. Shivock was then sacrificed to third, but was still there with two outs following a strikeout and a pair of walks. Law then stepped to the dish and came through with her second walk-off hit in as many weekends, ripping a RBI single to right-center field to account for the final 9-8 margin.

Next up for CSU is a meeting with Coastal Carolina on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The Bucs and Chanticleers split a doubleheader in Conway on March 28, with each side taking a 1-0 decision.