COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Behind key defensive plays, timely hits and a strong effort in the circle from freshman Rachael Walters, Radford edged host Maryland, 4-3 to earn a split on day one of Miken Maryland Invitational. The Highlanders fell to St. John's, 6-2 in the opener.
 
 
Radford 4, Maryland 3
Radford jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Maryland and after the hosts rallied to tie the game in the sixth, Jessie Hutchens put the Highlanders back on top with a RBI double and freshman Becky Mantel ended the game by gunning out the potential game-tying run at home to secure the 4-3 win.
 
Walters went the distance and allowed two earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and four walks.
 
Maryland used a couple of walks, a RU miscue and three flares just over the infield to even the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth.
 
In the seventh, the Highlanders drew a pair of one-out free passes and Hutchens followed with a double to the leftcenter gap, scoring pinch runner Megan Honaker from second with the winning run.
 
With a runner on second and two outs, Juli Strange tried to come around on a single to center by Nikki Maier, but Mantel grabbed it on one hop and fired a strike home where freshman Emily Naegele applied the tag a good 10 feet up the baseline for the game-ending out. For Mantel, it was the rookie's third outfield assist to home this season.
 
Radford grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third when freshman Hayley Tabora scooted home on a two-out error by the third baseman. Tabora led the frame off with her first collegiate hit, a line single to left, moved to second on a sac bunt and third on a grounder.
 
An inning later, with runners on second and third after two more walks and a wild pitch, Mantel knocked a 2-2 pitch right back up the middle to give Radford its 3-0 lead. Mantel finished 2-for-4.
 
St. John's 6, Radford 2

Plagued by early innings miscues, Radford was defeated by St. John's, 6-2 in the opening game of the Maryland Miken Invitational. The Red Storm scored six runs, three of which were unearned, in the first two innings and the Highlanders could not recover.
 
St. John's started the game with three straight hits, the third a two-run home run by Erin Burner to grab a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. In the second, three errors and a two-run single by Burner doubled the Red Storm's lead to 6-0.
 
Radford got on the board in the fifth thanks to RBI groundouts by freshman Casey Burns and Hutchens to cut its deficit to 6-2.
 
Senior Jackie Jenkins put in a solid outing. Following the first, she didn't allow any earned runs and retired the final 13 batters she faced. Jenkins struck out three and scattered seven hits, six of which were bloops or flares just out of the reach of the Highlander defense.
 
Five different Highlanders recorded singles.
 
Radford returns to action tomorrow against Ohio State (5:30 p.m.) and Binghamton (7:30 p.m.)