MT. PLEASANT, S.C. ? Megen Smith drove in three runs and ended a furious College of Charleston rally in the final inning to earn the save as Georgia Southern advanced 6-5 in game eight of the 2008 Southern Conference Softball Championship at the Patriots Point Athletics Complex.

With Georgia Southern holding a commanding 6-1 lead entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Charleston wasted little time in mounting a comeback. Christal Kotchman doubled down the left field line and was followed by a Tiffany Harmon single and an RBI double by Kristi Woodall. With no outs and two runners on base, Shannon Howard laced a double to the gap in left center, scoring both Harmon and Woodall and drawing the Cougars to within two at 6-4.

Smith then replaced GSU starter Melissa Laliberte in the circle and immediately induced a pair of groundouts. Back-to-back errors on the infield allowed Howard to score and bring the Cougars back to just a one-run deficit at 6-5. With a runner on second base, however, Smith struck out Samantha Kubinski on a 3-2 pitch to seal the victory.

Laliberte claimed the victory to improve to 18-11 on the year while Smith earned her first save. Howard went the distance for the Cougars, falling to 18-12 after taking the loss.

Amanda Hall started the scoring in the top of the second inning with her second solo home run in as many games, giving GSU a 1-0 lead.

The teams traded runs in the fourth inning before the Eagles exploded for four in the fifth. Smith landed the biggest blow of the game with a bases-clearing, three-run double to the fence in center field. She later scored on an error by the shortstop to stake GSU to a 6-1 advantage.

Georgia Southern (36-28) moves on to the winner's bracket final Friday at 3:00 p.m. against No. 5 seed UNC Greensboro. Charleston (32-32) falls to the loser's bracket where it will face fourth-seeded Elon at 12:00 p.m. Friday in an elimination game.