MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Trotter Harlan homered on the first pitch of the bottom of the first to give College of Charleston a quick lead, and the Cougars coasted to a 9-1 win over Monmouth in the opening game of a CAA series at Patriots Point.

Charleston won for the sixth time in its past seven conference games to improve to 7-3 in the league and 22-10 overall. The teams play Saturday at 2 p.m. with the Cougars looking to clinch their third-straight series victory.

Kevin Madden homered twice and Luke Wood also went deep, marking the fourth time in the past eight games that the Cougars have hit at least three round trippers. Charleston banged out a total of 12 hits, the eighth time in the last nine outings the team reached double digits, and eight went for extra bases. 

While the Cougars were lighting up the scoreboard, Jake Brink held the Monmouth hitters in check, limiting the Hawks to four hits and one unearned run over seven innings to raise his record to 6-1 while lowering his ERA to 2.43. Brink struck out six, and relievers Hayden Thomas and Davis Aiken combined for five more.

Harlan's leadoff homer was his third in the past two games, extending his hitting streak to six, and he added an RBI double in the eighth. Madden went to the opposite field for a two-run homer in the fourth and joined Wood with solo shots in the sixth as Charleston built a 7-0 lead. 

Dariyan Pendergrass had a team-high three hits including a double and stole three bases, the first Cougar to accomplish that since Will Baumhofer against Stony Brook last March.