NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Longwood softball team scored four times in the third inning, twice more in the fourth and held on to top Charleston Southern, 6-5, to open Big South play Saturday at the CSU Softball Complex.

Brooke Bennett then broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh inning of the second game with her team-leading eighth home run of the season, only to have the Buccaneers score twice in the bottom of the frame, ending the game with a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Maddie Lee to win, 5-4. 

"No easy days in Big South play," Longwood head coach Dr. Megan Brown said. "Everyone brings their best. It will always come down to the little things. Championships are won and lost by the execution of them."

Longwood (13-21, 1-1) sent nine batters to the plate in the third inning of the opener, getting a two-run double to right field from Sophia Knock to tie the game, 2-2, after Emma Smith gave CSU a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run single to left field.

After a Maggie Hiatt walk loaded the bases with one out, Bailey Bucholz followed with a two-run single to left to score Brooke Masingale and Knock for the lead.

Longwood added two more on a Masingale single to right, scoring Ava Abromavage and Lauren Faulkner with no one out in the fourth to push the lead to 6-3.

Charleston Southern (6-25, 1-4) crept to within 6-5 on a Harper Schoenweis run-scoring single and Carsten Sandvig RBI triple in the fourth, but could not get closer.

Maggie Chapin (7-9) scattered eight hits, five earned runs and four walks in four innings to earn the win in the circle, while Morgan Strickland pitched the final three frames for her second career save, loading the bases in the seventh before getting Sandvig to bounce out to second base to end the game.

The Bucs drew nine walks from Longwood pitching, but left 14 runners on base in the loss.

Abromavage paced the Lancers' 10-hit offense going 3-for-4 with a stolen base and two runs scored in the win. Bucholz went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Avery Miller added a pinch-hit double in the seventh inning.

CSU struck first again in the second game in the first inning on an RBI ground out from Sandvig to make it 1-0. 

Hiatt tied it in the top of the second, depositing a 3-2 pitch from Kinsey Clopton over the wall in left-center field with one out, her fifth homer of the year.

The Lancers then took the lead in the top of the fifth as Knock laid down a sacrifice bunt with runners on second and third and one out. Clopton fielded the ball, but threw low to first allowing Abromavage and Masingale to score for a 3-1 Longwood lead.

Charleston Southern knotted things, 3-3 in the sixth on a Charlee Yourman single to center with two out in the sixth off of Cierra Gawryluk, prior to Bennett's go-head homer in the top of the seventh.

The first two batters — Jordyn Dimond and Blakely Kingsmore — reached via a walk and single, respectively, in the bottom of the inning before Maggie Chapin came on for Strickland and got Schoenweis to hit into a fielder's choice. With one gone, Sandvig singled, scoring Kingsmore to tie the game at 4-4. 

Lee followed, lifting a sac fly that Sarah Terrell snagged in right, but lost in the transfer from her glove to hand, allowing Schoenweis to scamper in from third to win the game.

Strickland (2-5) took the loss, retiring one batter in the in the sixth while Clopton went the distance, improving to 2-6 overall.

Masingale went 2-for-3 with a run scored and stolen base. Hiatt and Bennett hit the Lancers' 25 and 26th homers of the season in the loss.

The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.