SOFTBALL BEACH BOUND FOR BATTLE WITH FIRST PLACE CHANTICLEERS

LIVE STATS - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

After an unexpected snowstorm dumped five inches of snow on the New River Valley yesterday, Radford leaves behind the winter wonderland and looks forward to the pleasant weather of Myrtle Beach as it continues a Big South road swing and faces another challenge in first place and defending champion Coastal Carolina this weekend. The Highlanders (12-19, 5-2 Big South) sit in third place, while the Chanticleers (22-13, 9-2) hold a slight lead over second-place Campbell. The doubleheader on April 6 and single game on April 7 will be played at Carolina Forest High School in Myrtle Beach, S.C. with first pitch for both days set for 1:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: Radford split a doubleheader at Liberty on Wednesday to earn its second Big South series win of the season… The split was fueled by a 14-hit, five home run attack in a 12-4 game two win… The five long balls tied a school record with two of them coming off the bat of freshman Whitney Davis (3-4, 4 RBI, 3 runs), also tying a single-game mark… Senior Ryndee Ruch, freshman Emily Naegele and freshman Becky Mantel also homered… That trio, along with freshman Casey Burns, each registered two hits and two runs… The Lady Flames took the opener, 7-0.

RU TIDBITS: Radford enters the weekend in third, but Longwood (27-10, 9-4) sits right behind it in fourth place… The last time RU hit five home runs in a game was on April 23, 2010 at Winthrop… The 14 hits and 12 runs at Liberty matched season highs in both categories… The Highlanders have recorded 11-plus hits in four of its last six games… Mantel has reached base safely in 17 of her last 18 contests and is currently on a season-best nine-game hitting streak (12-28/.429)… Radford has scored 15 runs in the second inning the last six games, including a combined nine in the doubleheader vs. CSU… Prior to that, RU scored just once in the first 25 games… Ruch extended her career-high hitting streak to six games (8-16/ 7 RBI) at Liberty, including a three-run home run in game two… Maggie Johnson is one win shy of 100 in her coaching career (87-80 at Georgia Southern)… Since starting 3-13, Radford has gone 9-6 in large part due to its improvements on offense... Over the last 15 games, RU is batting .358 and averaging 9.5 hits and 6.4 runs per game…Prior to that, the Highlanders were batting .184 and averaging 4.3 hits and 2.3 runs.

THE CHANTICLEERS: Coastal Carolina is in first place after taking a doubleheader from Charleston Southern on Tuesday… The Chanticleers have won 10 of 12 contests… Kiana Quolas gets it done in the circle and at the plate… She is 12-6 with a league-leading 1.40 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 124.2 innings of work… Her numbers at the plate are a .313 average with eight doubles, seven home runs, 19 RBI and 21 runs scored… Kory Hayden (.327) is one of five Chanticleers batting over .300 with a team-best 12 home runs and 30 RBI, along with eight doubles and 22 runs… Cacia Pierra tops the hitters with a .341 average, five home runs and 20 RBI.

THE SERIES: Heading into the weekend, the teams have met 63 times with the Chanticleers holding a 34-29 advantage in the series… Coastal took three of five last season, including the final two (3-2 & 4-0) in Big South elimination games, that propelled it to the league title and ended Radford's three year championship game run… All five contests were at RU Softball Field… The Highlanders took the regular season series, winning the final two matchups, 9-8 and 9-3 after dropping the opener, 6-2… RU has won the last six road games in the series and are 11-12 all-time.

UP NEXT: Radford briefly returns home for a mid-week Big South doubleheader to complete its series against Longwood on Wednesday, April 10 at 4:00 p.m.

Print Friendly Version