Philadelphia, Pa. – Jenna Helberg hit her first career home run and combined with Lexee Emanuel to drive in eight runs to power the College of Charleston to an 11-2 win over Drexel in the opening game of a Colonial Athletic Association series at Drexel.

The Dragons (16-11-1, 4-1 CAA) then rallied from an early 3-0 deficit for a 5-3 victory in the nightcap. The rubber game will be played on Sunday at noon.

Both teams scored twice in their first at bat in the opener before the Cougars (17-17, 2-3 CAA) exploded for six in the second. With the bases loaded and one out, Yari Felix hit a grounder to third and the throw home was high, allowing two runs to score.

Emanuel was intentionally walked to reload the bases, and Helberg spoiled the strategy when she drove a shot over the fence in left for a grand slam to push the lead to 8-2. The home run extended a two-game stretch for Helberg in which she also doubled and tripled and knocked in eight runs.

A double by Emanuel and RBI single by Gracyn Thrasher made it 9-2 in the fourth, and Emanuel finished a 3-for-3 game with a two-run base hit in the fifth that invoked the eight-run rule. Izzy Berouty was the beneficiary of the offensive explosion, limiting the hard-hitting Dragons to only three hits while fanning three.

The Cougars scored single runs in each of the first three innings of the second game including a solo homer by Kelly Sinclair in the second. Drayton Siegling blanked Drexel until the fourth when she issued a bases loaded walk followed by a two-run single by Linda Rush that tied the game.

Sarah Clinton put the Dragons in front for the first time in the doubleheader with a two-out, two-run homer in the sixth. Haley Hulitt, who homered in the first game, entered in relief in the seventh and retired Madi Brown on a grounder to second after the Cougars loaded the bases with two outs.