Box Score | Sarah Himan Catch/Shifflett Home Run Highlight

CONWAY, S.C. – Top-seeded Radford jumped out to a 5-0 lead and went on to defeat No. 3 Winthrop 8-3 in game eight of the 2010 Big South Tournament presented by Musco Sports Lighting, Friday afternoon from CCU Softball Field.

With the win, the Highlanders (35-15) advance to the championship game tomorrow at 2 p.m. Radford will face No. 3 Winthrop, a 4-0 winner over No. 2 Liberty Saturday morning, in the title game at 2 p.m.

It will be the second straight season and fourth in five years that Radford advanced to the Championship game, winning its first title in 2009. The HIghlanders and Eagles did battle for the title in 2007 on this very field. After Radford won the first contest, Winthrop claimed the championship in the if necessary game.

Kristen Shifflett and Nichole Beall each went 3-for-4 for the Highlanders. Shifflett recorded a home run, three RBI and scored two. Beall registered three singles and scored a run.

After stranding two runners in scoring position in the first, the Highlanders took a 3-0 lead in the second courtesy of Shifflett's two-out three-run blast to left, which was her 13th of the season.

Radford took advantage of a Winthrop (27-28) pitching change scoring two runs in the third. Ashleigh Jackson began the third, replacing starter Megan Evans. Taylor Cunningham laced a RBI single right back up the middle. Pinch runner Jessica Agee scored the second run when she tagged on a pop up behind the second base bag.

The Eagles got two runs back in the fourth getting a two-out RBI single by Veronica Berrie and then executing a double steal in which Kelly Blea easily scored.

Radford tallied an unearned run in the bottom half of the frame. Shifflett beat out a grounder to first for a leadoff single and advanced to second on a passed ball. On Beall's fly ball to the warning track in right, Shifflett tagged and then scored when the throw missed the cutoff and scooted into foul territory.

The Highlanders tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out RBI double by Hope Creasy. Creasy scored when grounder to short was misplayed.

The Eagles scored the final run of the game on a two-out run-scoring single by Megan Chapman. Jackson led off with a triple and scored when Chapman dumped a single into right center.

Cunningham was 2-for-4 at the plate with a run and RBI for the Highlanders. Chelsea Kelley improved to 23-7 with the complete game victory. She scattered eight hits, struck out seven and walked one.