Softball 3/20/2013 7:06:00 PM

VIDEO RECAP: WALTERS, HUTCHENS, AGEE POWER SOFTBALL PAST LIBERTY IN BIG SOUTH OPENER

BOX SCORE RADFORD, Va. – Junior Jessie Hutchens and senior Jessica Agee hit two-run home runs and freshman Rachael Walters tossed five innings of shutout relief as Radford posted a come-from-behind, 6-3 victory over Liberty in the Big South opener from RU Softball Field on a windy Wednesday afternoon in the New River Valley.

The Highlanders (8-14, 1-0 Big South) fell behind 3-0 in the second inning, but scored six unanswered runs to win their fifth straight league opener. It also marked the 13^th straight regular season home win over the Lady Flames (11-12, 0-1), dating back to 2004.

Hutchens, senior Morgan Eye and freshman Emily Naegele each went 2-for-3 as Radford recorded a game-high nine hits. Naegele scored two runs and Hutchens knocked in two.

Walters came in with no outs and a runner on second in the third and held Liberty to just four infield hits the rest of the way to earn her first conference win. She struck out four and walked one to improve to 5-5.

Chandler Ball (4-6) suffered the defeat in relief for Liberty, allowing three runs on four hits with a strikeout in 2.2 innings. Katie Zavodny went 2-for-4, extending her hitting streak to 15 games, while Amber Donavan added a 2-for-3 effort as par of Liberty's eight-hit day at the plate.

Trailing 3-0, Hutchens tattooed a two-run home run down the leftfield line to get a pair of runs back for the Highlanders in the third. Naegele kept the inning alive with a single to right. Following a long foul ball, Hutchens tagged her fourth round tripper of the season to cut the deficit to 3-2.

The Highlanders took advantage of a two-out error to even the contest at 3-3 in the fourth. Senior Ryndee Ruch doubled to the gap in right centerfield with one out and moved to third on a wild pitch. She would scoot home when a roller to short off the bat of Nia Chiles was misplayed.

A perfectly executed squeeze and two-run home run by Agee broke the 3-3 deadlock and forged Radford ahead 6-3 in the fifth. Naegele led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Eye dropped a bunt into no man's land to give RU its first lead of the contest. Agee sent the next pitch high over the scoreboard for the first long ball of her career and the three-run lead to complete the comeback.

Eye, who also tripled, and Naegele extended their hitting streaks to seven and six games, respectively.

After Radford stranded two runners in scoring position in the first, Liberty struck for three runs on three hits in the top of the second. An RBI single by Grace Nordan put the Lady Flames on the board. With two outs, Kelby Allen laced one back up the middle for an early 3-0 advantage.

The Lady Flames threatened to increase the lead in the third, but that is when Walters came in a shut the door. With a runner on second, she induced a comebacker for the first out. Following an infield single that put runners at the corners, She caught Hanna Nichols looking for the second out and got a groundout to second to end the frame.

Radford remains home to host Binghamton and Kent State as part of the two-day Radford Invitational on March 23 and 24. Liberty returns to Lynchburg for a three-game Big South series against Presbyterian on March 22 and 23.

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