Charleston, S.C. – College of Charleston opens its 2020 home softball schedule over the next four days when eight teams travel to the Lowcountry for the Charleston Invitational at Patriots Point.

The Cougars open against Bradley on Thursday at 5:00 and play twice on Saturday against Dartmouth (3:45) and North Carolina Central (6:00). Single games against Appalachian State on Saturday at 2:30 and Virginia Tech on Sunday at 1:30 round out the weekend.

Ohio, North Carolina A&T and Army will also be participating but will not face the Cougars.

Live stats will be available for all 14 games with links available on the tournament home page. There will not be any video streaming. Weekend passes are $12 for adults and $6 for youths 18 and under. A clear bag policy is in effect at Patriots Point.

The Cougars got their bats going at the Battle at the Beach last weekend in Conway, S.C. In four games, Charleston scored 39 runs and hit nine home runs, including three by redshirt freshman Payton Wade. Wade added three doubles, scored eight runs and drove in seven and was named CAA Rookie of the Week.

Wade leads the Cougars with a .571 average (12-for-21). Brittany Vicary and Gracyn Thrasher both have two homers and are tied with Wade for the team lead with seven RBI. Lexee Emanuel also has a pair of round trippers and has moved into a tie for 10th in school history with 15 in her career.

Bradley is 5-5 and has won four of its last six games. Four Braves are over .400 led by Taise Thompson at .500. Stacia Steeton is batting .417 with three homers and eight RBI, and Kealia Wysocki is at .407 with a team-leading 11 RBI. Emma Jackson has three wins including a shutout of UTEP.

Dartmouth opens its season this weekend. Micah Schroder is the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year after batting .473 with 40 RBI a year ago. Calista Almer finished at .350 with 11 steals, and Madie Augusto registered 55 strikeouts in the circle.

North Carolina Central is 0-4 but two of those losses are against nationally-ranked North Carolina and South Carolina. Tamiera Sanchez and Joirea Dumas have home runs for the Eagles, and Kiara Hurley has struck out 10 in 12.2 innings.

Appalachian State is 7-2 with six straight wins. Baylee Morton leads the Mountaineers at the plate with a .320 average, four homers and 12 RBI. Sydney Holland has four wins, an 0.25 ERA and 21 strikeouts while Kenzie Longanecker has two wins and has fanned 14.

Virginia Tech is 7-3 and ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll for the first time in school history, coming in at No. 24 this week. The Hokies defeated three ranked teams – South Carolina, Minnesota and Northwestern – at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational last weekend. 

Kelsey Bennett is the top hitter at .385 with two homers and nine RBI. Keely Rochard has four wins and has struck out 65 in 45 innings, and Kaylee Hewitt has three wins and a 2.62 ERA.