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Radford University Athletics

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Becky Mantel
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1
Radford RADFORD 20-15
6
Winner Appalachian State APP 9-29
Radford RADFORD
20-15
1
Final
6
Appalachian State APP
9-29
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Radford RADFORD 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0
Appalachian State APP 1 0 0 0 0 5 X 6 8 0

W: Ciocatto, Vanessa (7-14) L: Morrow, Abby (11-10)

10
Winner Radford RADFORD 21-15
6
Appalachian State APP 9-30
Winner
Radford RADFORD
21-15
10
Final
6
Appalachian State APP
9-30
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Radford RADFORD 0 1 4 0 2 2 1 10 9 1
Appalachian State APP 2 1 0 1 0 2 0 6 12 4

W: McIntyre, Lauren (5-0) L: Kennedy, Annaleise (2-10)

Game Recap: Softball |

MANTEL SETS NCAA RECORD, HELPS RADFORD TO GAME TWO VICTORY



BOONE, N.C. – Senior Becky Mantel set a new NCAA Division I record in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader at Appalachian State and then put Radford ahead for good in the nightcap as the Highlanders pulled away to a 10-6 victory.  

Appalachian State used a five-run sixth inning to take a 6-1 decision in the opener before Radford (21-15) bounced back to win the second game of a doubleheader for the fourth straight time after dropping the first.

Mantel reached on a hit by pitch twice in the defeat, giving her a record 93 in her career. The second came in the fifth inning to break the previous mark of 92 held by Oklahoma State's Mariah Gearhart.

In the second game, Mantel hit a two-run homer to cap a four-run third inning that gave the Highlanders a 5-3 lead. They then scored twice more in both the fifth and sixth and capped the scoring with one in the seventh. 

Radford recorded four doubles in the game and upped its Big South-leading total with a combined seven on the day. Kayla Bishton recorded three of them, including two in the second game while scoring three times and driving in one. Whitney Davis went 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored, while Summer Robinson drove in two runs.

Appalachian used four singles in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead before teams exchanged runs in the second, with Alex Lang getting Radford on the board on an RBI single. The Mountaineers countered with a two-out home run in the bottom of the inning.

However, the Highlanders took control in their next turn at-bat. They were able to tie the game without a hit, taking advantage of two walks to start the frame, followed by an error and the first of Robinson's two sacrifice flies. Two batters later, Mantel homered over the fence in left-center, her sixth of the season and 29th of her career, retying Davis for seventh in program history.

The Mountaineers got an unearned run in the fourth, but Bishton, Davis and Marissa Yow each doubled in the top of the fifth for the two runs.

In the sixth, Marissa Gagliano got a one-out single, stole second and scored on Bishton's 12th double of the season. She went to third on an error on the play and was able to score on Robinson's sac fly to right. Mantel then scored the 10th and final run in the seventh, drawing a walk, stealing second and scoring on an RBI single through the right side by Hannah Medlam, the last of RU's nine hits.

Lauren McIntyre worked five innings in relief of Kayla Huffman to improve to 5-0 on the season. She allowed three runs – two earned – on seven hits.

All the scoring in the opener came on home runs, with Robinson going deep for the third time in four games. Her leadoff shot in the top of the second tied the game at 1-1. Robinson also had a one of the three Radford doubles, along with Bishton and Gagliano.

Appalachian connected for two-run and three-run shots in the decisive sixth. Abby Morrow had retired 14 of 15 Mountaineer batters after getting the leadoff hitter, but a one-out single started a string of five straight Mountaineer hits. Cara Parker followed with the go-ahead homer, her team-leading ninth. After a single and a double, McIntyre came on in relief, but Tiffany Taynor hit the first pitch over the left-field fence.

Morrow (11-10) had allowed just three hits over the first five innings. She struck out two and walked none. Appalachian's other run came on a homer leading off the bottom of the first. 

Radford returns home this weekend for a Big South Conference series against Gardner-Webb. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and a single game Sunday, also with a 1 p.m. first pitch.

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