HIGHLANDERS HEAD TO MARSHALL FOR WEDNESDAY DOUBLEHEADER

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RADFORD, Va. – The Radford softball team continues a busy road stretch on Wednesday afternoon as it travels to Marshall for a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.

The Highlanders (16-7) are coming off a Big South Conference series win at Charleston Southern, which began a stretch of nine straight road games over a 10-day period. Overall, they are in the midst of 11 games in a span of 11 days.

SETTING THE STAGE

Day/Time: Wednesday, March 23 – 2 p.m. (DH)
Location: Dot Hicks Field
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2
Live Video ($)
Live Audio
Series: Marshall leads 11-1
History: Radford's lone victory was a 2-1 decision in 2003. The teams have played five games since then, with the most recent a doubleheader at Marshall two years ago. The Thundering Herd notched 4-0 and 7-3 victories.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 16-7
Radford ranks 85th in the first Division I RPI rankings of the season, second-best among Big South teams.
As of Monday, the Highlanders' eight road wins were tied for the second-most in the nation behind Kentucky.
Radford now ranks second in the conference in team batting (.298) and ERA (2.68), while continuing to lead the way in fielding percentage (.965).
Nationally, RU stood 33rd in ERA, 27th in doubles per game (first in BSC) and 37th in triples per game.
Abby Morrow (9-5) is second in the Big South in wins, fourth in ERA (2.29) and seventh in opposing batting average (.245).
Reigning conference Pitcher of the Week Kayla Huffman (5-1) is holding opposing hitters to a league-low .207 average, while ranking fifth in ERA (2.35).
Highlander pitchers are averaging 0.96 walks allowed per game, with Morrow remaining third nationally per seven innings (0.34).
Marissa Yow shares the Big South lead with eight doubles, is tied for fifth in RBIs (20), eighth in average (.343) and eighth in slugging percentage (.586).
Marissa Gagliano is second in the conference with 16 stolen bases, while leading the team with 26 hits.
Nia Chiles is now the team leader with a .344 average, coming off 3 for 3 performance with a career-high three RBIs on Monday.
Becky Mantel is tied for seventh in program history in walks (59) and seventh alone in runs scored (123).
Mantel and Yow both reached base in all three Charleston Southern games, extending their streaks to 13 straight.
The 8-5 loss on Monday was RU's first in 17 games this season when it scored at least three runs.

SCOUTING MARSHALL

Marshall is now 17-11 on the season after splitting a home doubleheader against Ohio on Tuesday, winning the first game 8-0 and losing the second 7-0.
Six of its previous defeats were to nationally-ranked Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arizona, while another came at Big South member Campbell (4-3).
In Tuesday's six-inning victory, junior pitcher Jordan Dixon recorded her first no-hitter while becoming Marshall's all-time wins leader. She also started the second game and allowed one unearned run on three hits in three innings.
For the season, she is 13-9 with a 2.45 ERA in 19 starts. She had 136 strikeouts and 42 walks in 131.2 innings.
Freshman Ali Burdette pitched the last four innings of the nightcap and had a 3.47 ERA in 11 appearances (six starts). In 40.1 innings, she had 17 strikeouts and 11 walks.
Entering Monday, the Thundering Herd led in the nation with 3.38 stolen bases per game. Individually, senior outfielder Kaelynn Green was first and junior outfielder Morgan Zerkle fifth per game, respectively. The duo has totaled 51 steals between them on 60 attempts. As a team, Marshall is 93 for 114 on the season.
The Thundering Herd is also batting .327 while averaging 5.21 runs per game.
Zerkle leads the Conference USA with a .500 average, with Greene second at .466. They have totaled 43 runs scored. However, Zerkle has missed the last eight games.
Freshman first baseman Briana Daiss has team-highs of seven home runs and 35 RBIs, while sophomore catcher Taylor McCord is second with 20 RBIs and fourth in average (.355).

UP NEXT
Radford returns to conference play for a three-game series at Winthrop, beginning with a single game on Friday at 5 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Nia Chiles: UT; 5' 11"; Senior; L/R

#5 Marissa Gagliano: OF/SS; 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman; L/R

#12 Becky Mantel: OF; 5' 4"; Senior; R/R

#2 Abby Morrow: P; 5' 10"; Junior; R/R

#22 Kayla Huffman: P; 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R

#23 Marissa Yow: C; 5' 9"; Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#7 Nia Chiles
: 5' 11"; Senior; L/R
: UT

#5 Marissa Gagliano
: 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman; L/R
: OF/SS

#12 Becky Mantel
: 5' 4"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#2 Abby Morrow
: 5' 10"; Junior; R/R
: P

#22 Kayla Huffman
: 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R
: P

#23 Marissa Yow
: 5' 9"; Freshman; R/R
: C