Mt. Pleasant, S.C. – Chandler Sparkman tossed 5.2 innings of stellar relief, but a grounder that barely eluded her grasp keyed a three-run seventh in a 4-1 loss to Appalachian State to conclude the second day of the Holy City Showdown at Patriots Point.

Sparkman entered in relief in the second with the game tied at 1 and the Mountaineers with the bases loaded and nobody out. She escaped that jam with two strikeouts and a ground out and went on to fan eight, the most by a Cougar since Brittany Violette struck out the same number against Northern Kentucky on March 10, 2017.

Sparkman struck out the side in the fourth and set down 11 in a row before giving up a two-out single in the fifth. Neither team could score until the seventh when Haley Stewart came up with the bases full and two outs and hit a high chopper back to the circle.

The ball tipped off the end of Sparkman's outreached glove and deflected into shallow left to bring home a pair of runs. The Mountaineers added another run on an error, and Sydney Holland finished off her complete game by retiring the Cougars in order in the bottom of the seventh.

Charleston took a 1-0 lead in the first on a leadoff single by Yari Felix and a two-out triple to right center by Jenna Helberg. Madi Brown led off the second with a double, the Cougars got runners to second and third in the fifth and loaded the bases in the sixth but could not come up with the tiebreaking run.

The Cougars continue tournament play on Saturday with a 3:30 contest against Dartmouth and Sunday against UMass Lowell at 11:15 a.m.