SOFTBALL TRAVELS TO VIRGINIA, HOSTS ETSU FOR MIDWEEK GAMES

Follow @RadfordSoftball

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford softball team will conclude its nine-game road trip with a visit to Charlottesville on Tuesday to face Virginia, before returning to the New River Valley to host a doubleheader against East Tennessee State on Wednesday.

Wednesday's games will be just the third and fourth of the season at home for the Highlanders, but begin a stretch when they will play 15 of the next 19 on their homefield.

SETTING THE STAGE - VIRGINIA

Day/Time: Tuesday, March 29 - 5 p.m.
Location: The Park (Charlottesville, Va.)
Live Stats
Series: Virginia leads 17-15
History: This will be the third meeting between the teams this season after splitting a pair of neutral-site contests earlier this month in Wilmington, N.C. Radford won the first one 6-3 before Virginia came back for a 3-2 victory the following day.

SETTING THE STAGE - ETSU

Day/Time: Wednesday, March 30 - 3 p.m. (DH)
Location: Radford Softball Stadium
Live Stats
Live Video
Series: Radford leads 16-8
History: After having faced each other since 2009, the programs had four meetings last year – all at ETSU – and each team won two of them, with three of the contests decided by two runs or less. Radford is 5-2 in seven previous games played at home, but the last was in 2007.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 18-10
Marissa Gagliano is on a 10-game hitting streak, the longest of the season for the Highlanders. She is batting .347 on the season with team-highs of 33 hits, 22 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. The redshirt freshman is tied for 22nd nationally in steals per game while ranking tied for fifth in the Big South in hits and tied for seventh in runs.
Nia Chiles has hit safely in eight straight games, while batting .462 in that span to raise her average to a team-high .359 – sixth in the conference. She has had multiple hits in three of the last six outings and is second on the team with 28 for the season.
Along with her five home runs, Whitney Davis is now the team leader in RBIs with 21 and has had seven multiple-RBI games.
Radford's 45 doubles and eight triples are both tied for first in the Big South, while its .290 average is third.
The Highlanders remain second in the conference in team ERA at 2.86. Individually, Abby Morrow is at 2.50 with Kayla Huffman at 2.66 and Lauren McIntyre now at 2.67.
RU pitchers have issued just 25 walks on the season. The next fewest total among Big South teams is 55 by Presbyterian.
Individually, Morrow and Huffman rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in the conference in ERA. Huffman is sixth in opposing batting average and Morrow ninth.
The 2-1 victory over Winthrop was the Highlanders' first season when scoring less than three runs. After starting out the year 16-0 when scoring at least three runs, RU has lost four of its last five.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA

Record: 11-23
Virginia is coming off of a 3-2 week, splitting a doubleheader last Wednesday at Longwood before taking two of three in an ACC series at Pittsburgh
Erika Osherow, who limited Radford to two hits on March 6, notched both of the victories against the Panthers. She is now 8-14 on the season with a team-leading 3.28 ERA. In 132.1 innings, she has struck out 79 and walked 33.
Katie Park leads the offense with a .298 average, six home runs, eight doubles and 27 RBIs.
Madison Labshere is second at .293 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.
Leadoff batter Iyana Hughes has 24 runs scored and is 11 for 12 on stolen-base attempts.
Kaitlin Fitzgerald and Allison Davis have combined for 13 doubles and 26 RBIs.

SCOUTING EAST TENNESSEE STATE

Record: 9-11
ETSU snapped a six-game losing streak with an 8-7 nine-inning walk-off win over Western Carolina on Saturday. The Buccaneers had dropped the first two games of the conference series to the Catamounts 14-7 and 4-0.
ETSU is hitting .276 as a team, but has six players above .300, led by senior outfielder Madison Boyd at .350.
Boyd hit the walk-off home run on Saturday, and in 18 games played has totaled four doubles, one triple, three homers and a team-high 14 RBIs.
Junior Taylor Carter is batting .328 with seven doubles, five home runs and 10 RBIs.
Danielle Knoetze and Kelsey Smith have combined for seven homers as the Buccaneers have totaled 22 as a team. However, they have just six stolen bases on eight attempts.
In the circle, ETSU has a 3.47 ERA, with seven different pitchers appearing and five logging at least 13 innings. Juniors Rebecca Wahrmund and Lindsey Fadnek have combined for 15 of the 20 starts.
Wahrmund is 2-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 28 innings, while Fadnek has logged a team-high 39.1 innings, going 5-2 with a 3.20 ERA. Fadnek has recorded the team's lone complete game.

UP NEXT
Radford plays its first Big South series at home this weekend as it hosts Coastal Carolina for a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.

For the latest on Radford Athletics, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Highlander Happenings.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

#15 Whitney Davis: 3B; 5' 11"; Senior; R/R

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

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

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

#8 Lauren McIntyre: P/INF; 5' 5"; Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

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

#15 Whitney Davis
: 5' 11"; Senior; R/R
: 3B

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

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

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

#8 Lauren McIntyre
: 5' 5"; Freshman; R/R
: P/INF