HIGHLANDERS COMPLETE BIG SOUTH SERIES SWEEP OF BUCCANEERS

BOX SCORE RADFORD, Va. – A near perfect relief outing by freshman Rachael Walters, combined with a 5-for-7 day from the bottom of the order and a 3-for-4 performance turned in by senior Jessica Agee powered Radford to a 7-1 win over Charleston Southern. The victory earned the Highlanders (11-18, 4-1 Big South) a Big South series sweep live on ESPN3, Saturday afternoon from RU Softball Field.

Walters entered with no outs, a runner on second and Radford clinging to a 2-1 lead in the third. She would retire 14 straight batters to improve to 7-6 overall and 3-0 in league games. A two-out bloop single in the seventh was the only runner allowed by the rookie left hander. She finished with two punchouts over her five innings of work.

The offense, paced by a 5-for-7 performance (4 RBI, 4 runs) from the 7-8-9 batters, pushed across five more runs to give her more than enough support. Agee, who recorded home run, two RBI and two runs, extended her hitting streak to six games and is 7-for-11 in her last three ball games.

Radford got on the board in the second thanks to three two-out hits by the bottom of the order, giving it a 2-0 lead. Freshman Emily Naegele started the rally with a double and scored on classmate Casey Burns' single back up the middle. Pinch runner Mackenzie Blackwell easily scored from second on senior Ryndee Ruch's fifth double of the season.

Naegele finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while senior Ruch (2-2) and Burns (1-2) each recorded two RBI.

Marci Christian got one of those runs back for Charleston Southern with a leadoff home run in the third. Stephanie Sbardella singled and reached second on an error. However, Walters came in a shut the door on eight pitches.

Three errors by Charleston Southern in the fourth allowed Radford to tack on a run. The final error came with two outs as Burns scooted home from third with the third run for the Highlanders.

Two runs in the fifth and sixth innings gave the Highlanders and Walters a six-run cushion. In the fifth, Burns executed a perfect squeeze to score Agee and Ruch followed with a run-scoring infield single as she beat out a slow roller to second.

An inning later, Agee capped off the scoring with a two run blast to centerfield, her second long ball of the season.

Christian, Sbardella and Ari Tedesco each recorded a hit for the Buccaneers. Jennifer Giles went the distance as she allowed six earned runs, walked one and struck out one.

The Highlanders recorded 11 hits and have posted a double-figure hit total in three of their last four games. Freshman Becky Mantel extended her hitting streak to seven games with a single in the first and has reached base safely in 15 of her last 16 contests.

Senior Jackie Jenkins started and went two-plus innings (2H, 1R, 2 BB, 1 K) for Radford.

Radford hits the road on Wednesday, April 3 for a league doubleheader against in-state rival Liberty at 2 p.m. The Buccaneers return home and will host Coastal Carolina on Tuesday in a twinbill starting at 2:00 p.m.

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