The Charleston Southern Buccaneers men’s baseball team achieved a 7-4 victory over Elon on Friday night, marking their fifth consecutive win to start the 2026 season. This performance ties the program’s best start since 1977 and is the first time they have reached a 5-0 record in their NCAA Division I era.
Elon took an early lead in the first inning after Jackson Alford singled, stole two bases, and scored on a double steal with Kevin Denty. The Buccaneers responded in the second inning when Gavin Speirs singled, advanced to third on an error, and was brought home by Blake Edgmon’s double.
Charleston Southern gained momentum in the third inning with three solo home runs. Garrison Barile started with a homer to center field, followed by Chandler Tuupo hitting one over right field for back-to-back home runs. Lucas Pringle added another solo shot to right field later in the inning, giving Charleston Southern a 4-1 advantage.
Elon narrowed the gap with an RBI single in the fourth and a solo home run in the sixth. In response, Tuupo delivered a two-RBI single up the middle during Charleston Southern’s half of the sixth inning. Both teams added one more run each in the seventh; Elon hit another solo homer while Edgmon drove in Nathan Martinez for Charleston Southern.
Drew Dawson entered as relief pitcher late in the game and allowed only one base runner among five faced while striking out three batters.
At bat, Charleston Southern matched its season-high with 11 hits. Tuupo led with three RBIs and was joined by Speirs, Wolfley, and Edgmon who each had two hits. Barile and Pringle contributed one RBI apiece from their solo home runs.
Titus Von Kapff started on the mound for Charleston Southern, pitching four-and-a-third innings while allowing two earned runs on six hits. Tyler Henshaw came out of the bullpen to earn the win after throwing three-and-a-third innings with two earned runs given up across three hits. Dawson secured his save at game’s end.
The series continues Saturday morning at Nielsen Field @ CSU Ballpark against Elon at 11 a.m., while Sunday’s game remains scheduled for 1 p.m., both available live on ESPN+.
