TOWSON, Md. – Avery Neaves had four extra base hits and scored four runs, and Tyler Sorrentino homered twice to lead College of Charleston to an 8-5 win at Towson in the opening game of a CAA series.

The Cougars (32-11, 15-4) won for the 18th time in their last 20 games overall and have taken 14 of their past 16 conference games to move into sole possession of first place pending the outcome of tonight's UNCW-Campbell contest.

Neaves tripled, doubled and homered in three of his first four at bats and had a chance for the cycle in the eighth but instead doubled again to give him 11 total bases on the day. Neaves is 8-for-12 and has scored 12 runs in the past three games after being inserted into the leadoff spot.

Charleston scored in the first on the Neaves triple and a Cole Mathis sacrifice fly. Sorrentino followed a Kevin Madden home run in the second with his second career long ball to build a 4-0 Cougar advantage.

After the Tigers pulled within two, Neaves doubled and scored on a Mathis single in the fourth. Back-to-back homers by Sorrentino and Neaves in the sixth made it 7-2, and another Neaves double and Mathis single combination put Charleston ahead by six in the eighth.

Towson rallied for two in the eighth before Davis Aiken entered and stranded two runners. The Tigers were able to tack on a run in the ninth, but Aiken finished it off with a strikeout with the tying run at the plate for his 10th save of the season.

Jake Brink went seven innings for the Cougars and allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts to win his seventh game against only two losses.

The series continues Saturday with a 1 p.m. game.