By MONTE DUTTON

In the midst of a rough season, Presbyterian College’s baseball team hit a new low on Friday in North Charleston.

I was following the game. The Blue Hose took a 12-5 lead over Charleston Southern entering the bottom of the ninth inning. I read a book for a while and checked on the game again. The Buccaneers had scored seven runs to send the game into extra innings.

Charleston Southern (19-10, 4-4 Big South) loaded the bases with two out in the bottom of the 10^th inning, and the sixth PC pitcher, Mikey Marroquin (0-2), walked Nate Martinez to give the Bucs a 13-12 victory.

Third baseman Matthew Rollison went 4/4 for the Blue Hose with a double, a home run, three runs scored and four batted in. His counterpart at third, Blake Edgmon, had three hits for CSU.

Charleston Southern won the series opener, 7-0, on Thursday.

Presbyterian (6-26, 2-6) has lost nine of its last 11 games and closes out the series on Saturday at 1 p.m.

After a Tuesday game at Georgia, PC hosts Winthrop next week after 12 straight games away from home.

The news was better in Chester, where Clinton High pummeled the Cyclones, 18-2, after winning at home, 13-0, on Tuesday night.

Luke Young homered twice, driving in three runs and scoring two. Tanner Finley, Talan Campbell and Owen Glenn each had two of Clinton’s 14 hits.

Hunter Rawls had Chester’s only hit, a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. Tanner Finley shared mound duty with Camden Finley and Isaac Cain.

Clinton (11-2, 5-1 Region 3-2A) is spending Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Charleston, participating in the Hanahan Spring Invitational.

The Red Devils scored 12 runs in the third inning. Chester (5-8-1, 2-2) committed six errors.

Clinton has won three straight and 10 of its last 11.

Presbyterian (13-23, 3-5 Big South), after spotting Radford (17-18, 4-3) a 2-0 lead, roared back to take an 8-2 victory and softball doubleheader split at home on Friday.

Catcher Gracie DeCuir doubled twice, and second baseman Audrey Burton collected three singles.

The Highlanders won the opener, 4-3.

Clinton’s softball team performed similarly in Chester (5-5, 2-1), pounding the Cyclones, 18-5.

Halleigh Luke, Kamryn Campbell and Me-Me Smith each had three of the Red Devils’ 17 hits. Smith doubled and homered and turned in a complete game in the circle, surrendering five hits and three earned runs, with a walk and four strikeouts.

Clinton (10-4, 3-2) is off for spring break this week.

James Rhodes is Big South Freshman of the Week in men’s golf. He earned the award after finishing tied for 14th place at the Cutter Creek Intercollegiate, March 27-29.

Rhodes is the ninth different Blue Hose men’s golfer to earn the Big South Freshman of the Week award in the program’s history.

The Columbia native finished the tournament with a three-round score of 218 (+2). He posted rounds of 72, 77, and 69. In the three rounds, he had 13 birdies and 29 pars. 

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