MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – College of Charleston ace Griffin McLarty struck out 11 in 7.1 innings before UNCW rallied in the ninth for a 6-5 win in the series opener between the two rivals on Friday night at Patriots Point.
 
McLarty's strike-out total was one shy of his career high and the junior right-hander left with one out in the eighth and the Cougars up 5-3. However, the Seahawks struck for three in the ninth including a game-winning two-run homer by Riley Zayicek.
 
The Cougars trailed 3-0 until erupting for five runs in the bottom of the seventh including RBI singles by junior Chris Graham and redshirt senior Logan McRae and a sacrifice fly by senior Dupree Hart.
 
Senior Danny Wondrack walked with two outs in the ninth to bring the potential winning run to the plate, before Seahawk closer Blake Morgan recorded the final out.
 
Morgan went the final 2.1 innings and allowed only one hit and no earned runs to pick up the victory.
 
CofC had a total of eight hits with redshirt senior Bradley Dixon recording a pair of singles.
 
Charleston moves to 27-15 overall and 9-4 in conference play, while UNCW improves to 22-22, 6-7 CAA. The middle game of the series will take place on Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. (ET) at Patriots Point.