Towson, Md. – Lexee Emanuel homered twice including a solo shot to lead off the eighth that gave the College of Charleston a 4-3 win over Towson in the opening game of Saturday's Colonial Athletic Association doubleheader.
The Tigers bounced back for a 10-6 win in the nightcap that was stopped after 5 ½ innings due to the Cougars' flight plans.
CofC (32-21, 12-9) currently holds second place over Hofstra (10-8) in the CAA standings, but the Pride can overtake the Cougars on the strength of a better winning percentage should they defeat Drexel in their finale tomorrow.
Top-seeded James Madison will play host to the tournament, which gets underway Wednesday in Harrisonburg, Va. Regardless if CofC is seeded second or third, it will play the second game on Wednesday at 1:30.
After Emanuel put the Cougars in front with her seventh home run of the season, Izzy Berouty worked a perfect bottom of the eighth to close out the Tigers (23-27, 6-13). Emanuel also hit a two-run blast in the fourth that gave CofC a 3-2 lead.
After Towson tied it in the fifth on an RBI single by Madison Wilson, the Cougars left the bases loaded in the sixth and had a runner thrown out at the plate trying to score on a fly out in the seventh before Emanuel won it in the first extra frame.
Taylor Belfiore singled, Sara Garcia doubled and Padilla drove in a run with a ground out in the top of the second, and the Tigers went ahead 2-1 in their half of the frame on a two-run homer by Brook Miko.
Berouty worked out of a second and third, one-out jam in the sixth after relieving starter Sam Martin and allowed only one hit while striking out two in three innings for her 12th win of the year.
The Cougars appeared to be on their way to a sweep when Kelly Sinclair drove in three runs with a bases loaded double in the fourth to build a 6-2 lead. But Towson exploded for seven runs in its half of the inning to gain the split and the series win.
Jordin Jones gave CofC a quick 3-0 lead when she followed singles by Taylor DuPree and Sinclair with a three-run homer, breaking a tie with Emanuel and Taylor Belfiore for the team lead with eight. Jones also increased her team-leading RBI total to 38.
