Charleston, S.C. - Caroline Conner tossed a four-hit shutout and set a career high with 11 strikeouts to lead College of Charleston to a 3-0 win over Monmouth and a split of Saturday's CAA doubleheader at Patriots Point.
 
The Hawks took the opener, 11-3, and the teams will play the rubber game of the series Sunday at noon. Charleston has won six of its last eight CAA games and are 8-6 in conference play.
 
Conner recorded her third shuout with a dominating performance that included at least one strikeout in the first six innings and three each in the third and fourth. The freshman moved her record above .500 at 7-6 with her ninth complete game.
 
The Cougars broke out on top in the second inning of the nightcap when Mia Dittoe led off with a single and eventually scored on a bases loaded walk to Karlee Hughes. Base hits by Kayla Gutierrez and Hughes led to an RBI infield single by Shealyn Starks, and Hughes swiped home on the back end of a double steal in a two-run fourth.
 
In the first game, the Cougars fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first but cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning when Aniz Roman singled for the first of her two hits and scored on a ground out by Starks.
 
Charleston then went in front with two runs in the third. Roman led off with a walk and scored on a double by Hughes, who came across on a single by Starks for her second RBI of the game.
 
However, the Hawks took advantage of wildness to score four times in the fourth for a 6-3 lead and added one in the sixth and four in the seventh for the final margin.