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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Morrow vs. Upstate
4
Sacred Heart SHU 1-6
5
Winner RADFORD RADFORD 3-7
Sacred Heart SHU
1-6
4
Final
5
RADFORD RADFORD
3-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Sacred Heart SHU 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 1
RADFORD RADFORD 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 5 10 1

W: Morrow, Abby (2-4) L: WENTWORTH, Kacie (0-4)

6
Winner Central Arkansas UCA 10-6
1
RADFORD RADFORD 3-8
Winner
Central Arkansas UCA
10-6
6
Final
1
RADFORD RADFORD
3-8
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Central Arkansas UCA 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 6 6 0
RADFORD RADFORD 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 2

W: Studioso, Kylee (9-2) L: Brown, Tiffany (0-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

EXTRA BASE HITS SPARK COMEBACK AS RADFORD SPLITS FINAL PAIR AT USF UNDER ARMOUR INVITE

CLEARWATER, Fla. ---- After battling back to defeat Sacred Heart, 5-4, following a 22-hour rain delay, the Highlanders fell to Central Arkansas, 6-1, to wrap up play at the USF Under Armour Invite at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla., on Sunday. Becky Mantel appeared to have found her form from a year ago, batting .556 with two homeruns and four RBI over the four-game weekend.
 
"It was definitely better as the week went on," said head coach Maggie White. "During the first game it was very clear that we had not been on the dirt in awhile, which is no excuse. We really put into practice the things we talked about after that game the rest of the weekend. This last game was not the prettiest, but there was fight and the team was still working for each other with high energy and focus. We learned a lot about ourselves as a team."
 
A pair of homeruns on Saturday, one coming against Sacred Heart (1-6) and the other versus Central Arkansas (10-6) highlighted Mantel's weekend. She went 5-9 at the plate, scoring two runs and batting in four. Casey Burns logged the team's best average at the tournament, hitting .583 with a two extra base hits, including her first homerun of the year. Whitney Davis continued to be consistent at the plate, tallying four hits and two RBI.
 
"Now that Becky (Mantel) is back on the field and not just a designated player, I think she is able to relax a little bit more at the plate because she is so comfortable in centerfield," White said. "Becky takes our defense to another level with her energy and focus. She hit her first homerun and rounded third saying, 'I am back, Coach.' That is Becky and we are glad to have her back."
 
Abby Morrow came away with two victories this weekend after pitching 14 innings. She earned the complete-game win against Middle Tennessee on Friday and then came in as relief for Brittany Wratchford following the rain delay against Sacred Heart. Morrow struck out 11 batters between the two contests, surrendering just two runs. Tiffany Brown pitched in Sunday's final game against Central Arkansas, throwing her first collegiate-complete game. Brown rung up eight batters and allowed five earned runs to cross the plate.
 
The Highlanders (3-8) return to action on Friday, March 6, at the East Tennessee State Tournament. Radford opens play against the weekend's host, ETSU, at 5 p.m. Five games are scheduled over the three-day competition.
 
For the latest news on the Radford softball team, follow the Highlanders on Twitter at @RadfordSoftball. To keep up with all Radford athletics, follow @RU_Athletics on Twitter.
 
:: GAME 1 ::
Radford 5 :: Sacred Heart 4
 
Radford and Sacred Heart resumed yesterday's game after a 22-hour rain delay. Starting the day down 3-0, the Highlanders stormed back with a walk-off sac fly to win their third game in the last four outings.
 
Davis had two hits in the effort, both for triples off the right field wall. Mantel went 2-3, hitting her first homerun of the season over the palm trees towering over left field. Two of Burns' seven hits this weekend came against the Pioneers.
 
Wratchford started the contest on Saturday morning in the heavy rain. Early struggles gripping the ball in the weather led to three runs for Sacred Heart and two runners on when play resumed on Sunday. Morrow pitched seven innings, earning the win, after logging five strikeouts and holding the Pioneers to two hits.
 
Kate Nadler, Justine Sibthorp and Lauren Delgafillo tallied Sacred Heart's hits. Sibthorp had two RBI, hitting a double on Saturday with the bases loaded. Adrianne Mallory started in the circle, logging 1.2 innings. Mallory surrendered three runs off four hits. Kacie Wentworth came in to attempt the save, but two runs in the seventh sealed the game for Radford.
 
The Highlanders came out swinging to start the game on Sunday, scoring three runs in the second inning. Mantel led the frame off with a solo shot into the palm tree outside the left field fence. It was her 17th career homer. In the next at bat, Mackenzie Blackwell hit a triple to right-center field. After back-to-back strikeouts, an error at third scored Blackwell and put Nia Chiles on base. A single from Kayla Bishton and two walks brought Chiles home and Radford within one after two innings.
 
Radford and Sacred Heart went four scoreless frames before the Highlanders posted two in the seventh to win in walk off fashion. The game was tied on Davis' second triple of the ballgame, which just missed clearing the fence down the right field line. Two ensuing walks set the stage for Blackwell's sac fly to right field to bring in Alex Lang as the winning run.
 
:: GAME 2 ::
Central Arkansas 6 :: Radford 1
 
The celebration from the morning's win was short lived for Radford, as the team quickly packed up and loaded onto the bus to move fields to take on Central Arkansas. The Bears' Kylee Studioso was too much for the Highlanders' bats, as she tallied 14 strikeouts in seven innings.
 
Mantel recorded the Red and White's first hit of the game, spoiling Studioso's perfect game in the fifth inning with a homerun to left center. Burns got a second hit off the Bears' ace late, sending a pitch right back to the circle and beating out the throw. Brown went all seven innings for the first time in her collegiate career, striking out eight batters and allowing five earned runs.
 
Audrey Pratt went 2-4 at the plate for Central Arkansas. Pratt hit in one run with a double in the fifth. Five different Bears had hits in the contest, while Hannah Stirton and Pratt represented four of the six runs. Studioso earned her ninth win of the season, holding Radford to two hits and one earned run in the 14 strikeout-effort.
 
The game was busted open in the fifth inning when Central Arkansas scored three runs to extend its lead to 5-0. A single and a walk put two runners on for Pratt with one out. She hit a double off the outfield wall to score one, but a second crossed on a defensive miscue. Bailey Reynolds came in to pinch hit, finding a hole at short to score Pratt. The Bears added another tally in the top of the sixth on a second Radford error.
 
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