RADFORD, Va. -- Radford Softball welcomes New River Rival Virginia Tech to RU Softball Field, Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. for its first home game of 2011. Prior to the game, the Highlanders will unveil their 2010 Big South regular season and tournament Championship banners.

Radford (2-2), under the direction of fifth-year head coach Mickey Dean, returns to action after opening up with a 2-2 showing at the Spring Hill Suites Eagle Classic on Feb. 12 and 13. The Highlanders split each day, defeating host Georgia Southern, 7-0 and 4-3, but falling to Mercer, 6-4 and 4-3.

There were several bright spots from the first weekend of play, highlighted by performances from a freshman pitcher and bottom of the lineup.

Freshman righty Stephanie Dameron shined in her first collegiate weekend. In three relief appearances, she tossed 11 innings of three-hit ball and allowed just an unearned run. Dameron earned both wins over Georgia Southern with one and two-hit outings. She also went four frames of no-hit relief in the finale against Mercer, but suffered the defeat on back-to-back two-out errors in the bottom of the seventh.

Radford's eight-nine tandem of seniors Taylor Cunningham and Lauren Williams went a combined 10-21 with five runs and three RBI and provided the game-tying and game-winning hits in the 4-3 comeback win over GSU. Williams is batting a team-best .500 (5-10) with three runs and two stolen bases. Cunningham ended the first weekend, batting .455 (5-11) with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored.

The Highlanders defeated the Hokies, 9-3, at RU Softball Field in their only meeting of 2010. Virginia Tech still leads the all-time series, 27-10.

Virginia Tech (6-2) is off to a strong start, claiming a pair of tournament titles over the first two weekends of play. In their most recent tournament, the Hokies went 2-2 at the Buccaneer Invite. After dropping both games on Friday, they bounced back and defeated Mercer, 8-0 and Ohio, 3-2 for the title. Jasmin Harrell was named tournament MVP

The Hokies opened 2011 with an undefeated performance at the 49er Round Robin, defeating Charlotte, UNC Wilmington and Iona (twice). Kenzie Roark was earned MVP honors.

Dani Anderson and Kristen Froehlich pace a Hokie lineup that is batting .316 and averaging seven runs per game. Anderson is batting a team-best .462 with three doubles, six runs and a .563 on base percentage, while Froehlich (.423) leads the way with two home runs, 12 RBI and a .846 slugging percentage.

In the circle, Kenzie Roark is 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 30.1 innings. Ashton Ward and Harrell have each picked up a win and sport 1.50 and 1.54 ERAs, respectively.

Radford heads down to Birmingham, Ala. this weekend for the Magic City Classic hosted by UAB. The Highlanders open up with the host Blazers on Friday night and will also face regional participant Lipscomb, Saint Louis and Samford in a three-day span.

Radford's next home contest will be after Spring Break when it hosts James Madison on March 16.