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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Marissa Yow
Big South Sports Photos
6
Winner Campbell CAM 28-30
3
Radford RADFORD 35-26
Winner
Campbell CAM
28-30
6
Final
3
Radford RADFORD
35-26
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Campbell CAM 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 6 9 0
Radford RADFORD 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 6 1

W: C ROBERTS (10-11) L: Morrow, Abby (20-18) S: K BAKER (4)

Game Recap: Softball |

RALLY FALLS SHORT AS RADFORD’S RUN ENDS WITH 6-3 DEFEAT



ROCK HILL, S.C. – This time the Radford softball team was unable to completely overcome a big deficit and survive its fourth straight elimination game, as a seventh-inning rally came up short in a 6-3 loss to Campbell in the teams' second semifinal round game of the Big South Tournament on Saturday.
 
A tremendous turnaround season for the Highlanders ended with 35-26 record, the most wins for Radford since 2011. The improvement of 23 victories over last year under first-year head coach Aileen Morales is currently the most by any Division I team in the nation. RU also broke through for its first conference tournament wins since 2012.
 
Campbell used a five-run third inning to advance to the final against top-seeded Longwood later Saturday.
 
Radford went down battling though, scoring all three of its runs in the final inning and bringing the tying run to the plate on two occasions. Nia Chiles got the rally started with a one-out double down the left-field line and Marissa Gagliano followed with an RBI double over the centerfielder. Consecutive hit by pitches to Becky Mantel and Kayla Bishton then loaded the bases and Whitney Davis' liner to shallow left went off the glove of the oncoming left-fielder for an RBI single to make it 6-2.
 
After Campbell brought on Katie Baker to relieve starter Courtney Roberts, Summer Robinson's sacrifice fly brought in Mantel to make it a three-run game. However, Baker followed with a strikeout on a 2-2 pitch to Marissa Yow to end it.
 
Gagliano went 2 for 4 for Radford, while Campbell's Caroline Smith (3 for 4) was the only other player in the game with multiple hits.
 
Before Campbell's decisive inning, the Highlanders had a couple of chances to jump on top. After Abby Morrow worked a perfect top of the first, Gagliano led off with an infield single, stole second with one out and moved to third on a groundout. However, Roberts got a called third strike to escape.
 
In the second inning, Yow doubled with one out and Alex Lang drew a two-out walk. Chiles then sent a low looper up the middle, but the Fighting Camels second baseman laid out to make a diving catch.
 
Campbell then used six hits, including four straight run-scoring ones with two outs, to take control. A double and a single with one out started it. Gagliano then caught a popup for the second out, but the two through five batters in the order each plated runs with singles, with the last two coming on a check-swing blooper that dropped just fair down the left-field line.
 
Amber Schisler added her 16th home run of the season in the fifth to make it 6-0, while Roberts limited RU to just three hits until the seventh. She had allowed just three hits in her only other appearance against the Highlanders exactly one week ago.
 
Morrow took the loss, allowing five runs no seven hits in three innings. She finished the year with 241.2 innings, the third most in single-season program history behind only Ashley Taylor in 2008 and 2007. Morrow and Bishton were named to the All-Tournament Team. Bishton hit .389 with 10 RBIs in the five games.

Seniors Chiles, Davis and Mantel played their final game in RU uniforms. Chiles made 202 career starts and Davis finished tied for fifth in program history with 31 career home runs and ninth with 116 RBIs. Mantel ranks third in runs (149) and walks (74), tied for fourth in home runs (32) and first in on-base percentage (.457).
 
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